Rogue Agent
by GerdavR
Summary: Theron Shan tries to uncover a conspiracy. When the SIS disavows him, he has to find new allies to stop the Revanites - even if it means that he has to work with the enemy! (maleSW/Theron; slightly AU with the holy trinity angst, fluff and eventual smut; Jace Malcom and Satele Shan critical; implied Vette/Quinn)
1. Skyfall

**Rogue Agent**

The Manaan sun shone brightly, and Theron Shan squinted as he scanned the promenade for his contact. The salt hung heavy in the chilly air. Selkath and off-worlders walked past him. Out of habit he listened what they were talking about.

"… the next shipment of kolto is due in three days," said a green-skinned female Twi'lek.

"Of course. After that we have to negotiate a new deal – the demand for kolto is rising," the Selkath next to her said. "And with the recent attacks on Tython and Korriban …"

"The Empire and the Republic are always at war! You can't raise the prices every time they butt heads!"

"Surely you understand …"

They had walked out of Theron's earshot. He glanced at his wrist holo – there were no new messages. He decided he would wait for another 15 minutes before heading back to his ship. Theron checked again on the bug he had planted on Colonel Rian Darok: He still seemed to be in the Republic embassy.

Suddenly he felt his hackles getting up. Someone was behind him! Theron moved his hand quickly inside his jacket and turned on his heel to face whoever thought they could get a drop on him. But as soon as he turned, he froze. Not out of surprise; he really couldn't move.

Cold fear ran down his spine when Theron realised that the blonde woman in front of him was using the Force to hold him in place. She wore green robes and for a moment, Theron had the fleeting hope she was a Jedi.

But on second glance, her unnatural pale skin and gleaming yellow eyes identified her as a Sith.

Theron had fought Sith in the past and had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Just when he was about to activate a remote-controlled stun blast droid with his cranial implants, the Sith let go of him and took a step back. He pulled his blaster halfway out of his jacket and stared at her.

"There is no need for violence," the Sith said in a thick Imperial accent.

Theron scoffed. "Yeah, right – that would be a first."

"At this distance, I could snap your neck before you get the blaster out of the holster. If I wanted you dead you would already be."

"You're not the first Sith who thought that." Theron directed the stun probe behind her.

They stared at each other, finally the Sith cleared her throat and said: "I'm your contact."

Theron frowned. "Never thought that a Sith would meet up with an SIS-Agent."

"I'm nothing if not practical. I think we are both trying to solve the same puzzle. And I suspect that you hold a few pieces I'm still missing."

Theron crossed his arms. "I assume you want a step-by-step exchange or…"

The Sith reached in her robes, Theron took a step back and put his hand again on his blaster. But she simply pulled a data pad out and handed it to him.

"… or you just give me everything at once – fine by me." He quickly scrolled through the data files. At first glance, it seemed indeed genuine.

"I don't have time for an intricate exchange of information. Just give me what you have and we will part ways."

Theron stared at her and finally gave her a lopsided grin. "That's rather blunt, isn't it? Where is the good old dagger and cloak stuff? The code words? The exchange in a den of thieves?"

To his surprise the Sith deadpanned: "If we had the time I would gladly torture you for information. Perhaps another time?"

"Why not? I've always enjoyed Imperial hospitality." He pulled a spare data spike from his pocket and transferred some of his information on it. Then he handed it to her. Despite the banter, he was focussed. The stun probe was still hovering behind the Sith – if she was going to attack him, it would be now.

"Farewell," the Sith said, and left so quickly that Theron almost didn't manage to get the stun probe out of her way.

He narrowed his eyes and watched her disappear down a side street. Then he walked briskly in the other direction. His first impulse was to return to his ship, but on second thought he wanted to make sure that nobody was following him, so he took a few short-cuts to a sleazy cantina he had been to before.

He ordered a beer and sat down in a booth that allowed him to watch the entrance. If somebody was following him or was tracking him, they had to come through that door. Theron had been on enough stake-outs to know that he would be stuck for a couple of hours, so he started to scroll through the data the Sith had given him: It seemed to be a complete course of events on the Imperial invasion of Tython.

ooOOoo

Two hours later, when he finally took the first gulp of his beer, he grimaced before swallowing – it had gone stale. He had been completely absorbed by the reading, only occasionally looking up when somebody entered the cantina.

It was a fascinating read on the Imperial war machine and how the Dark Council worked. But what really caught Theron's interest was that Darth Arkous had been the driving force behind the Imperial attack on the Jedi Temple on Tython … just like Colonel Darok had been pushing toward a Republic attack on Korriban. And both had been contemporaneous. Theron could almost hear Master Zho say that there were no coincidences, only the Force. He frowned and pushed the memory of his old master aside. He didn't need some mystical explanation; the truth was that for some reason Darok and Arkous had timed their attacks. It was as if they wanted to throw the Empire and the Republic into disarray … yes that must be it.

Theron rubbed his temple and put the data pad down on the table. He took another gulp of his beer and grimaced again. Before he could order another drink, his holo beeped, he glanced at the caller ID: unknown.

He sighted and pushed the receive button – the figure of SIS-Director Marcus Trant appeared on the holocomm device. Theron made an effort to sound nonchalant.

"Director! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"If I remember correctly I specifically told you to stay put on Coruscant, yet here you are – defying my orders once again."

Theron chuckled. "After all these years you're really still surprised that I choose to follow a lead instead of sitting behind a desk? Really?"

"I'm afraid you don't understand. You are in serious trouble this time, Theron."

Trant's tone made Theron sit up straight, his eyes scanned the room. Two Rodians had just entered the cantina, wearing state-of-the-art blasters in their holsters. "Director?"

"I'm sorry." Trant ended the call.

The Rodians set their eyes on Theron and closed in on him. There were likely more agents outside waiting for him, so he had to act fast. Theron grabbed a handful credit sticks from his pocket and threw them in the air.

The effect was immediate: Most of the customers instantly recognized their chance and wanted to gather as much of the money as possible. In a matter of seconds, a brawl started. Theron let himself fall on the floor and crawled toward the bathroom. Not his most dignified escape to be sure, but he lacked the time for a more stylish exit. Once he was in the bathroom, he smashed out a small window and jumped down into the back alley.

Theron scattered a few micro flashbangs, which would go off as soon as somebody stepped on them and ran down the alley. Seconds later, he heard them go off. He slowed his pace once he was back on the main street. There was no need to draw attention from the Selkath authorities. He stripped off his brown leather jacket and ditched it in a trash bin before entering a Selkath art gallery. It was a fairly common gambit to hide in public, but in his experience, an effective one.

He waited a couple of minutes and pretended to look at some sculptures before he exited the gallery and stepped into a tea house across the street. He hoped his pursuers would think he was on the run and wouldn't even bother to check the vicinity.

An internal signal from his cranial implants proved that he was right – the silent alarm in his shuttle had been set off. He had to find another way to get off Manaan. Theron cursed under his breath. He had been careless, and the SIS agents had found his shuttle far too easily!

He ordered an herbal tea and checked Darok's position. It seemed that the colonel was still in the embassy. Someone very high up was protecting Darok.

Theron frowned when he saw that Darok's position changed. He was leaving the embassy.

Should he go after him? The SIS agents were still looking for him, so it was risky to go near his target. The only other option was to hack into local surveillance systems and observe Darok. Theron used his data pad to quickly program a spike to hack into the Selkath systems via the holonet. In a matter of minutes, he got a feed from a surveillance camera – it showed how Darok boarded a submarine in the harbour.

Theron ordered another tea and leaned back. There was nothing he could do but watch.

Darok was apparently visiting some underwater laboratory. To Theron's dismay, he only got visual contact, so he couldn't hear what Darok was talking about with the Selkath he met in the laboratory. Theron almost jumped up when he saw that a Sith Pureblood approached Darok and the Selkath. Darok nodded toward the Sith; clearly, he was on friendly terms with him. A shiver ran down Theron's spine and he made a fist with his right hand. Then he relaxed his hand quickly and began to check the surveillance system. He had to know what they were talking about!

Right when he was working his way through the auxiliary programs someone else arrived in the laboratory: It was the blonde Sith who had been his contact. She wasn't alone – a tall Sith in black armour, a blue-skinned female Twi'lek and a light-skinned male human in Imperial uniform accompanied her.

"Kriff!" Theron hissed. The Sith had played him for a fool! But after a few moments it turned out that Darok and his Sith friend weren't pleased at all. The Selkath called security guards and a fight broke out while Darok and the Sith fled. Everything happened quickly now, someone seemed to have set off explosions – the lab was shaking and water began to flood in from cracks in the ceiling. The whole lab went on lock-down.

The two Sith quickly dispatched the Selkath guards, and the Twi'lek ran to the nearest computer station and quickly inserted a spike. Theron saw the read-outs on his monitor: She was trying to locate the nearest escape pod.

Theron did the same and realised that there was only way out for them, and there was no way that the Twi'lek would be able to open all blast doors fast enough, let alone unlock the escape pod before they all drowned. Theron hesitated for a moment before he put his hacking skill to use and started to lift the lock-down.

It seemed that the Twi'lek caught on quickly that someone was helping her, judging from how she changed her approach to slicing the system. She grasped that the smartest way was to divide the work between them. Theron was astounded to realise that they worked so efficiently together, as if they had been a team for years.

In a matter of minutes, the Imperials managed to get to one of the escape pods and only seconds after they had boarded it, the lab was completely flooded. Theron leaned back and exhaled. His hands began to shake from the adrenalin. He realised that he had been completely absorbed in his task. He quickly took a look around – but nobody in the tea house seemed to pay him any attention.

He checked on Darok, but his tracking device wasn't working anymore. Theron took a sip of his herbal tea and thought about his next steps. The SIS was looking for him, his ship was under surveillance and it was only a matter of time until they found him in this small city. He had to find out how deep this conspiracy ran and he had to get off this planet.

Theron sighed. His best shot was joining forces with the Imperials. They had the resources he needed – but it went against everything he believed in. He didn't trust Sith further than he could throw them. No, there had to be a better way. They would just torture him until he had told them everything, then they would kill him or worse, hold him captive in a Force-forsaken Imperial prison. But then again … what else could he do? Wait for the SIS to find him and hope for help from his 'allies'? That was a long shot, too, and perhaps they would make sure that he wouldn't leave Manaan alive.

He ran his hand through his hair. By the stars! He really was better off with the Imperials; at least he knew what he was getting into.

Theron got up and headed for the port.


	2. Hold your breath and count to ten

About half an hour, later the Sith stepped out of the submarine port. Theron waited for them at the gate. He leaned against some kolto crates and gave the blonde Sith his flashiest smile.

"Glad to see that you made it out in one piece."

He noticed that the male human and the Twi'lek put their hands on their blasters, but he did his best to remain calm even though he started to feel a little sick to his stomach.

The female Sith eyed him curiously. "I didn't expect to see you again."

"That was you?" asked the Twi'lek. "You were good – almost as good as me." She winked at him with a mischievous smile. Theron noticed that she was speaking with a Republic accent.

The other Sith finally spoke: "What do you want? I assume you didn't save us out of the goodness of your heart." His deep voice was distorted by the mask he was wearing, but it didn't sound threatening.

"What were you discussing with Darok and the Sith?"

The Twi'lek crossed her arm. "So you tried to listen in?"

"Of course, I was tracking Darok. So here is my proposal: We share our information and part ways once we've left the planet."

"You want to leave with us?" the male human asked with a crisp, Imperial accent. He narrowed his icy blue eyes. "The SIS is after you, isn't it?"

Theron laughed nervously. "Let's just say that I need a ride."

To Theron's surprise, the blonde Sith turned to the tall one. "My lord?"

So she wasn't the one running the show, it was the masked Sith. Interesting. He stared at Theron for a moment, then he said: "Of course, if you would follow me."

The Sith turned on his heel and stared to walk in the direction of the space port. Theron slowly followed him, registering that the blonde Sith and the male human were walking behind him.

He was now protected by two Sith lords. What could possibly go wrong?

ooOOoo

The sound of the airlock closing behind him made Theron almost flinch. He glanced over his shoulder and registered dimly that it was code protected – but surely he could slice it if he had enough time. He turned his attention to the interior of the Fury-class starship. The furniture and the wall panels were dark and matched the style of every other Imperial ship he ever had been in.

"Don't you guys ever get sick of your gloomy interior design?"

"Of course not," replied the male human. "It's not gloomy, it's …"

"I do!" the Twi'lek exclaimed, and grinned at Theron. He saw how the human frowned at her.

To his surprise Theron heard the tall Sith chuckle. "Perhaps it's a little dull."

Finally, they arrived in a room with a long table and several comfortable looking chairs. Theron exhaled a little, at least they hadn't led him straight into a torture chamber. The tall Sith sat down and the others followed suit. Theron was surprised to see that the Twi'lek sat casually next to the Sith, so she wasn't just the Sith's slave. Now that he thought about it, she had seemed absolutely fearless from the start.

"Introductions are in order," said the blonde Sith. "I'm Lana Beniko, advisor or rather former advisor to Darth Arkous. After today's incident in the laboratory, I assume that he will make sure that I'm no longer in his charge."

The other Sith leaned back in his chair. "I'm the Emperors Wrath, Darth Saikrâm. "

This announcement made Theron's hackles rise. The Emperor's Wrath! The most feared executioner in the Empire!

The Twi'lek smiled at him. She seemed almost too cheerful for the company she was keeping. "I'm Vette, pleased to meet you."

"Captain Malavai Quinn," said the man to her right, curtly.

"Well, I'm Theron … I guess you all know that I work for the SIS and – "

"Used to work for the SIS," Quinn interjected.

"Uh, well yes. I guess so. So, what were you discussing in the lab before Darok and Arkous tried to drown you like unwanted nexu kittens?"

Theron realised that it wasn't the best way to start a talk with murderous Sith by comparing them to helpless cute animals. But after a short moment of staring, Beniko drew a breath and told him about the short exchange in the lab.

It turned out that the Imps had confronted Darth Arkous about his suspicious trips to non-Imperial worlds and the strange coincidence of the parallel invasion of the Jedi and the Sith homeworlds. They had been surprised to find a Republic colonel with Arkous but couldn't determine his role before the fight started.

"That's all?" asked Theron disappointed. He wiped across his face with his hands – somehow, he had felt he would get some vital piece of information.

"Yes," Saikrâm leaned forward. "Your turn."

"I read the intel Lord Beniko gave me. It's uncanny how similar Darok and Arkous were behaving. They are both serving a third power, something they believe in. Darok is one of the most loyal soldiers of the Republic, so something must have happened to him to turn against the Republic."

"Hmm, the same can be said about Arkous," said Beniko and rubbed her chin. "He is a patriot. I don't believe that he is doing it to harm the Empire – is it possible they both believe this treason is a service to their homeworlds?"

Theron noticed how Quinn shifted in his seat.

Saikrâm had seen it, too. "Quinn? Any thoughts?" His voice sounded affectionate.

"There are indeed a lot of parallels between both invasions, my lord. I suggest we scour the intel again to find more connections. There has to be a lead that points us to the mastermind behind this conspiracy."

"We should leave Manaan," Vette suggested. "Who knows what kind of connections the bad guys have on this world? We really should move to a safe location."

"I agree," said Theron.

"Quinn, plot a course to Dromund Kaas – we will plan our next steps from my estate." Saikrâm ordered.

"Yes, my lord."

Theron jumped up. "Wait a moment! That's not what we agreed on!"

Beniko looked at him. "We didn't agree on anything. You proposed something and we let you tag along. Besides, don't you want to find out more about the conspirators?"

"I might add that you haven't provided us with any additional information, Agent Theron." Quinn got up and straightened his jacket. "Nothing you have told us isn't already covered in the intel you gave Lord Beniko." He strode out of the room.

Vette stood up and followed him, yelling something about wanting to fly the ship.

Theron was insecure how to proceed and tried to calm down. He had to think of something. Suddenly he registered that Saikrâm had approached him. The Sith was towering over him and Theron felt the need to take a step back. Seeing the metallic mask with the glowing eyes up close didn't help either. Theron gulped.

"Don't worry, Agent Theron. My estate has an interior much more to your liking – I'm confident that you will enjoy Imperial hospitality."

"Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all," mumbled Theron.

Saikrâm simply laughed and left the room. Theron gulped again and glanced at Beniko.

"2V will show you the crew quarters," she said. "You can also use the fresher if you like."

ooOOoo

It turned out that the crew quarters were as narrow as in most space ships Theron had travelled in, but still slightly more spacious than his own bed in his little shuttle. Theron looked around: There were five bunks and three of them seemed to be taken. The one nearest to the door was covered with data pads and small packs of snacks. The other one across the room was neatly bedded, probably according to regulation. The one next to the messy bed was neater, but not as impeccable as the bed across the room.

Theron sat down on his bed and rubbed his temples. It would've been easier if they had simply thrown him into the brig. Saikrâm acted as if they were allies of some sort. What was he playing at? Putting him in the crew quarters with the rest of his underlings – did he believe that Theron would simply do as he was told? All Sith he had met were exceedingly arrogant … perhaps he could use this to his advantage. Both Sith were likely to underestimate him, but he had to get a read on Quinn and Vette. Still, the way Quinn had stared at him and the fact that Vette had realised he was a very skilled hacker indicated they wouldn't be easily tricked. But how loyal were they to Saikrâm? Could he gain leverage?

Theron got up and stopped at the door to listen. He heard voices and followed them. Moments later he arrived in the middle of the ship, where a rather large lounge stood. Vette and Quinn were sitting next to each other. She was showing him something on her data pad.

"… see, it's simple."

Quinn frowned. "No, it's not! Why would you use this subroutine?"

Theron casually sat down next to Vette nodded at them. Quinn's frown deepened, while Vette just smiled at him. Theron returned the smile.

"How may we help you, Agent?" Quinn asked. Theron felt the temperature in the lounge go down several degrees.

"Just wanted to pop by and get to know you," replied Theron. "What are you up to?"

"I'm showing Mal how to program a spike to hack a system. But alas – he doesn't get it."

"Can I have a look?"

Vette handed Theron the pad. "Sure."

Theron scrolled through the code lines. "Neat!"

Quinn shifted in his seat. "You still haven't told me why you used the subroutine, you -"

"Because it's a shortcut," interjected Theron. "Otherwise you would have to write a new program on your own. This way you can just piggy-back your signal through the system without losing time."

"Right, this might surprise you, Quinn. But cutting corners can actually pay off. Hacking isn't something you can do by the book." Vette nudged him.

"That's why …" Quinn stopped mid-sentence and rose from his seat. "If you'll excuse me. I have work to do." He turned on his heel and left.

"Off he goes to look over your intel once again," Vette chuckled.

"Ah, one has to love those stuffed Imperial officers – too full of themselves to get even the simplest hack." Theron leaned forward, hoping to give Vette an impression of camaraderie.

Vette grinned at him. "Well, there is no denying that Quinn is a starchy one, that much is true. And so easy to rile up that it's almost no fun." She picked the data pad up from the table and looked at it, then she glanced at Theron again. "But he isn't full of himself."

That last comment piqued Theron's interest, but he didn't want to appear too inquisitive and so he changed casually the subject. "Where did you learn to slice?"

"Nowhere I would get complimentary cranial toys," Vette replied and pointed at Theron's implants at his temple. "The stuff I could've gotten would probably have fried my brain by now."

"But couldn't you get some state of the art implants now?"

Vette tipped at her forehead with her left hand. A black rhombic tattoo became visible on her wrist when her sleeve slipped back. "Nah, I'm still an all-natural girl. I've seen what can happen to people who rely too much on technology. All I need is right here." She tipped again against her forehead.

"But it would improve your game considerably. I'm sure your Boss would approve, wouldn't he?"

Vette's smile faltered and she glared at him. Theron realised that the last comment had been too clumsy. He sighed, ran his hand through his hair and gave her a lopsided grin. "I'm sorry, Vette. I've always been a nosy spy and can't help myself."

"You know what, Agent? I'm not so daft that I don't realise why you are getting all chummy with me – but you could at least put some effort in it or just be straight forward."

"I'm sorry, okay. I mean it – look, I'm in a tight spot here and just wanted to know what's what." Theron wiped across his face. "I couldn't get a read on Saikrâm and I thought I could get some intel from you."

Vette's face softened a little. "Sai is alright. You don't have to worry."

Theron stared at her in surprise. "Alright? You - "

"Shocking, I know. But I should go now and give Quinn a hand, otherwise he will be grumpy all day." She gave Theron a mock salute, got up and walked in the direction of the conference room.


	3. Feel the earth move and then

Theron grinned when he finally finished a new program designed to find overlapping information. He initiated the program and stretched his back. His joints clicked and he groaned.

"How old are you exactly?" asked Vette with a raised eyebrow. She was sitting next to Theron and was reading some report.

"Hey! I was hunched over this data pad for over three hours!" Theron exclaimed in fake indignation.

Beniko looked up from the galactic map she was studying in the back of the room and said: "Perhaps we should take a break, we have been at work for several hours now."

Vette grinned and jumped up. "I agree! Time for a cup of caf!"

"I never thought that I would agree with a Sith Lord, but for once I do." Theron rose from his seat, his joints clicking once more. Damn it, was he really getting old? He felt a pressure in the back of his head, the beginning of a headache. "Or perhaps I should take a hot shower first? It has been a long day."

"Suit yourself, you know where the showers are," replied Vette and rushed out of the room.

"Captain? Will you join us?" asked Beniko.

Theron followed her gaze until he set his eyes on Quinn who was still scrolling through a report. He shortly lifted his gaze and mumbled: "I'm just finishing this …"

"See that you do," replied Beniko and left.

Theron glanced once more at Quinn before he headed to the showers.

ooOOoo

He stepped out of the shower and let his shoulders roll back. The pain in his back and his head was gone. Theron grabbed the towel the ship droid had provided him and began to rub himself dry. He felt rather relaxed, despite being on his way to Dromund Kaas – why was that? Theron buried his head in the towel and dried his hair. The way Vette had told him that Saikrâm wasn't that bad came to mind. But it wasn't just that – Lana Beniko also seemed to be a rather rational Sith.

Theron looked in the mirror and checked his hair. Then he pulled his clothes from the fresher and put his underwear on. It had to be the way they talked to him. Truth to be told, Sith weren't known for subtlety – the fact that they let him roam free on the ship indicated they didn't have sinister plans for him.

He was about to put his pants on when he heard someone enter the bathroom. Before he could react, Saikrâm appeared in front of him. The Sith stopped dead in his tracks.

They stared at each other – it wasn't the first time Theron stood face to face with a Sith in his underwear, but this wasn't Darth Karrid and they weren't trying to kill each other. He remained calm.

"Agent … I apologize for the intrusion," he said. But instead of leaving, he let his gaze wander over Theron's body. He was still wearing his mask, but even if Theron weren't a seasoned spy he would've realised what that that lingering look meant: Saikrâm liked what he saw.

Finally, Saikrâm turned and left. Theron continued to dress himself. His thoughts returned to Saikrâm: He didn't seem to be a typical Sith. He seemed to have a sense of humour. And he ogled a Republic spy before apologizing to said spy. And the things Vette had said … Theron pulled his shirt over his head, threw the towel in the fresher and left the bathroom.

When he returned to the conference room, everybody else was already working. Theron glanced at Quinn, who was still sitting stiffly at the table and was reading something on his data pad; it seemed he hadn't moved at all.

ooOOoo

About two hours later, Saikrâm entered the room and let himself fall on a chair next to Theron. Everybody looked up from their work.

"I've spoken with every Moff from the core worlds to the outer rim, but they didn't report any unusual occurrences. My contacts in the intelligence services also came up with nothing."

"They covered their tracks well," said Beniko. Then she turned her attention to Theron. "Could you check your Republic sources?"

Theron shook his head. "I already tried, but I was disavowed by the SIS and nobody wants to talk to me anymore. Or at least not the sources whom I trust."

He could see Quinn frowning yet again. Theron became slightly nervous, since he clearly wasn't an asset. They were catching up with the fact that he had lied when he had told them they needed to take him with them.

"Then it's perhaps time you contacted the sources you don't trust," Beniko replied pointedly.

Theron gulped. "I'm on it. But I think that my cross-reference program will be more useful than shady underworld snitches."

"I would put my money on a cheap snitch any time," interjected Vette. "The small crooks know what is going on, they usually simply lack the bigger picture – you just have to ask the right questions."

"Of course, but first we need to know in which region of the galaxy we should slip credit sticks into the pockets of the local scum," Theron shot back.

Vette rubbed her chin. "Hmm, that's true."

"Quinn? You're unusually quiet," said Saikrâm.

"Apologizes, my lord," Quinn sat up even straighter, "but I don't have to add anything at the current moment."

Saikrâm chuckled. "I see, you are working on a theory – good, then I'm confident that we will solve this puzzle."

Theron leaned back in his chair. He still couldn't get a good read on the Imps, but there was something between Vette, Quinn and Saikrâm. He couldn't put his finger on it. Beniko was obviously also part of the team, but in a different way.

Saikrâm was an unusual Sith, but Quinn seemed like all the Imperial officer drones – bootlicking, boring and stuck-up. Vette on the other didn't quite fit the bill; she was outspoken, sassy and seemed to mock the good old Imperial ways. And Lana Beniko, well she was just there, watching and judging; she hadn't mentioned a title but Quinn had called her Lord Beniko.

He picked up a data pad. He still had time to get to the bottom of this and somehow take advantage of it. After all, he had to find an escape route for when he will have outlived his usefulness. Theron took a quick look around; the others were working again. The atmosphere was relaxed, and it confused Theron because it reminded him so much of the atmosphere he had had when he was working with fellow SIS agents. But these were Imps. Why was he surprised about that? Theron realised he had pictured that Imps were only working when someone was cracking a whip, that there was a constant fear keeping them going.

Theron almost scoffed. It seemed he had listened too much to Chancellor Saresh's speeches. There were bound to be Imps who didn't fit the cardboard image of their enemies, the ones Republic politicians mentioned in their appeals to support the war effort. Theron had killed Imps in the past; he had no problem with doing what was right, what kept the galaxy safe – despite knowing that they weren't all inhuman monsters.

Yes, he knew what was right and he knew what was wrong and he did what was necessary. And the right thing right now was to stop the conspiracy that threatened the Republic.

He focused at the task at hand and lost himself in the work.

ooOOoo

Vette put her plate back into the replimat and turned to Theron, who was still sitting at the table in the galley.

"I'm done for tonight – I'm taking a long hot shower and then I'm going to watch cheesy holovids!"

"Sounds like a plan," said Theron and got up with his own plate in his hands. "I think I need a break, too – what kind of activities can you recommend on a Sith ship?"

"Well, you can always watch Saikrâm and Beniko spar against each other. If you're not afraid the get accidentally cut in two that is."

"Do they spar often?" Theron stepped next to Vette and put his plate away.

"Almost every day. At least when they haven't fought anybody else. How often do Jedi spar?"

Theron pulled a caf from the replimat. "No idea, I haven't been around many Jedi." It was a half-truth. He had been raised by Master Zho, at least until the Jedi discovered that he wasn't Force sensitive. His grip around his caf mug tightened and he had to make an effort to look indifferent.

"Is it true that they're _always_ calm and serene?" Vette asked. "I have only met Jedi in battle, I mean when Saikrâm fought them."

Theron took a sip of his caf. "No idea, but the ones I've met seemed pretty calm to me. But it's in their code of course, so why wouldn't they be."

Vette leaned against the counter. "I used to admire them, y'know. When I was a kid at least, but when I think about them now … they are kind of creepy."

"You mean creepier than Sith? Really?"

She hesitated and continued in a serious tone: "I think they are both eerie with their Force and stuff. Perhaps it's because I hang around with Sai, but Sith have motives and desires I can relate to. Jedi have this air of superiority and righteousness that makes them cold."

Theron cleared his throat. "Cold? I don't know."

"We met this Jedi master on Tatooine … he and his disciple, student, whatever … and well, Sai was there and they started to fight." She hugged herself. "It got messy when Sai killed the student. I mean, I felt sorry for that guy – he was in over his head and didn't stand a chance."

She looked Theron straight in the eye. "But you should've seen the Jedi master. He didn't even flinch! It was as if the other guy didn't even matter. Even when Sai killed him, there was no emotion visible on his face."

Theron suddenly felt uneasy. Vette had said out loud what he had always thought secretly. He had never thought about Sith of course, but the Jedi … they were exactly like Vette described them. At least that's what he thought when he worked with Jedi, when he worked with his mother …

Theron pulled himself together and smiled at Vette.

"Well, at least they aren't throwing temper tantrums."

Vette seemed taken aback about his light-hearted comment. "Okay. Well, yeah, I guess you're right." She attempted a smile and left the galley.

Theron exhaled. What was the matter with him? He usually handled these situations better than that. It had been uncanny how Vette had said out loud what he thought were his most private thoughts. Perhaps it was the whole teaming up with your worst enemy that made him queasy?

He wiped his face and gulped his caf down. Perhaps it was better to work on his programs again and forget about this stuff. The sooner they had results, the sooner he could try to get away. Theron headed toward the conference room and just as he arrived in the hallway, he saw Saikrâm going into the conference room. He slowed his step when he heard voices, quietly as possible he moved forward.

"… just finishing this report, my lord." Theron recognized Quinn's voice.

"And after that you will finish another one, right?" said Saikrâm.

"I just want to make sure that every lead is followed. It would be negligent of me-"

Theron stepped into the doorframe and saw that Saikrâm had put his right hand on Quinn's shoulder.

"You can't do it on your own, Malavai. We are in this together. We will find the people responsible and we will make them pay." Saikrâm's voice sounded mild, despite the harsh words. Theron's curiosity was piqued; so this was personal for them?

Quinn's stony face softened and for a moment he looked weary and pained. Then the professional expression returned and he said, "Yes, my lord."

"Now go and get some rest. We will continue in the morning." Saikrâm turned his head toward Theron.

Quinn's lips became a thin line when he saw him standing in the doorway. Then he grabbed his data pad and strode out of the room, brushing past Theron.

"It seems Quinn isn't the only workaholic on board," remarked Saikrâm.

"Well, there isn't much else to do, is there?" Theron gave the Sith a lopsided grin, fully aware what his most charming smile could do.

Saikrâm tilted his head a little. "You could always join me in the training room."

Theron looked at the tall Sith in his heavy plated dark armour. Saikrâm looked like he could tear him limb from limb even without the Force. Suddenly, he wasn't sure anymore if his smile had been a good idea. He licked his lips nervously. "Perhaps another time – I think I might check in on Quinn. Make sure that he isn't secretly working and so forth."

"Please do." Saikrâm's gaze lingered for a moment on Theron, before the Sith went into the direction of the training room.


	4. Hear my heart burst again

Quinn was standing in the crew quarters and was about to unbutton his uniform jacket when Theron arrived.

"Agent, may I help you?" asked Quinn stiffly.

"Yeah, I just thought you could tell me where I could find clothes for the night. I would like to turn in as well."

"2V should – oh, well," sighed Quinn and walked over to a small cupboard in the back of the room. He pulled white shrink-wrapped clothes from a drawer and handed them to Theron. "Standard-issue Imperial underwear. I trust you won't spontaneously implode when you wear it."

Theron laughed. "Hey, and here I thought that Imps don't have a sense of humour."

"Yes, I hear that often," Quinn remarked.

"Vette?"

"Of course." Quinn continued to unbutton his jacket.

Theron pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on his bed. He grabbed the shrink-wrapped package and tore it open. "Did she explain to you why she used the subroutine?"

"Yes, she did." Quinn folded his jacket neatly and did the same with his shirt.

"Why bother though? Vette is very good – it will take a lot of time to catch up."

"I'm always interested in bettering myself. My intention isn't to surpass her, but to fulfil my duty to the best to my abilities."

Theron almost groaned. A typical Imp answer! But then he remembered the talk between Saikrâm and Quinn. He had to bring Quinn out of his shell if he wanted to hear more about it. "But your Boss already seems to be quite content with you, and apparently he's worried -"

" _Darth_ Saikrâm is not 'quite content' with my performance," Quinn interrupted.

Theron looked at him: Quinn didn't seem angry, only weary. He continued to undress and fold his clothes with calm hands. Then he saw a black rhombic tattoo on Quinn's right wrist. It was the same as Vette's, only hers had been on her left wrist.

"Of course he isn't!" said Vette and entered the crew quarters, wearing only a towel wrapped around her body. "He is not quite content, he is absolutely thrilled with your work! Come on, Mal; we've already talked about this."

Quinn smiled a little at Vette. "I know, I just can't help myself. I can't stop thinking -"

She nudged him. "You can't go on like this, you dork."

Theron watched their exchange while changing into his nightwear. His initial assessment was faulty. Vette and Quinn weren't at odds. They were all close, there was no doubt about it – they weren't subjugated to Saikrâm, they were truly allies, friends even; something he didn't think possible in the Empire, where everyone seem hell-bent on achieving their own selfish goals.

By the stars, it had just become even harder for him to find an escape route! They were close-knit and the spark of hope he had to enlist Vette's help to get away vaporised.

Vette turned away and both of them dressed for the night. Theron did the same, still musing about his next steps. Moments later Beniko joined them. Theron lay in his bed, starting at the ceiling while hearing the deep breaths of his roommates. Nothing came to mind; perhaps he had just to get along and wait for the right opportunity. But first things first, he still had to prove that he could be of use to them – he had to tap into sources he usually avoided, calling in favours he had sworn he would never use.

ooOOoo

Twenty-four hours later they arrived at the Kaas City spaceport. Theron felt a chill running down his spine when he stepped out of the ship. He was in the heart of the Empire. The weather was cold, rainy and seeing hundreds of people in Imperial uniforms disquieted him more than he thought possible.

"Agent?" rang a voice behind him out.

Theron spun around and saw that Saikrâm was standing behind him.

"This way," said the Sith and gestured towards a shuttle that had landed just outside of their hangar.

"Don't worry – I won't get lost. After all there is nowhere I could go from here," Theron replied, sounding subdued.

Saikrâm put his hand on Theron's shoulder blade. "Come now, Agent. You are a senior SIS agent, certainly you could hijack a ship, slip into some cargo freighter or something like that."

Theron frowned. It was as if Saikrâm was daring him to try to get away. Was this some kind of game to him? He made an effort to smile. "Well, I wouldn't want to miss your famed Sith hospitality."

The Sith laughed. Theron wasn't sure if that was a good sign. Suddenly the hand on his shoulder felt heavy.

ooOOoo

Theron wasn't sure what he expected the Emperor's Wrath's estate would look like, but he was nonetheless confused about the amount of green he encountered in the mansion in the outskirts of Kaas City. Holoportraits of Sith Purebloods were on display in every corner. Red tapestry dominated most of the rooms, but the panoramic windows made the dark interior less intimidating.

Vette, Quinn and Beniko disappeared in the corridors, only Theron and Saikrâm remained in the vestibule.

"Who are they?" asked Theron and stepped in front of a holoportrait with a female Pureblood. She looked fierce: Her face was scarred and one of her eyes was covered by an eye-patch.

"My ancestors and relatives – that's Auntie Ukhonean. She was my favourite aunt."

Auntie? It was hard to imagine that this battle-hardened warrior could be anybody's auntie! "Ah … what happened to her?"

"She was killed during the Battle of Corellia. Green Jedi defeated her."

Theron continued to watch the holopicture. "You don't sound angry."

"Of course not, why would I be? There are causalities in war. We all know that."

"And here I thought anger was important to Sith," mumbled Theron.

Saikrâm scoffed. "Yeah, but I can't be angry all the time – only immature Sith and upstarts think that being Sith is about being pissed off all the time. It's about not suppressing your feelings, not about forcing them."

"Some Jedi might not agree," replied Theron and turned to face Saikrâm. "And the Sith I've met so far did seem angry and volatile."

"That's because you've met them in battle." He leaned down until his mask was but centimetres away from Theron's face. "You should see me in battle – it's glorious! My passion runs deep."

Theron involuntarily took a step back and Saikrâm straightened himself.

"We should really spar some time together, Agent."

"Uh, I think I will pass. Something tells me that I can't beat a Force-user who's about 20 centimetres taller than me and looks like he could strangle a Houk with his bare hands."

"Yet you have fought Sith and won, haven't you?"

"Perhaps, but these were special circumstances. I wouldn't stand a chance in a one-on-one match against you."

Saikrâm tilted his head. "I promise that I won't use the Force."

Theron narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to fight me so badly?"

"I know who you are, Agent _Shan_ ; and I'm curious about you and your abilities."

The moment Theron heard his last name he stiffened and his hackles rose. Of course, they've found out who he was, it had been naïve to assume otherwise. The question was, if they also knew who his mother was, or his father for that matter.

"Is that the reason why you brought me here?" Theron felt nauseated.

The Sith exhaled. "No, Lana just found out a couple of hours ago – did you know that the SIS is looking everywhere for you? They aren't exactly subtle. They are leaking worse than a Hutt's sewer system. One would almost assume that they hope someone would do you in."

Theron cursed under his breath. This was worse than he had anticipated – whoever was after him had no problem breaching every protocol and all the rules! The SIS never released information about their agents, not even the rogue ones.

Wait, he had to calm down – perhaps Saikrâm lied to him? He had to confirm this himself.

"I need to talk to my sources," said Theron in a pressed voice.

"Of course." It sounded as if Saikrâm was smiling, but Theron couldn't be sure. He was beginning to find the mask annoying. "The factotum droid will show you to your room. You will find a secure holochannel there." He clicked with his fingers and a droid appeared from nowhere. "Take Agent Shan to his room."

"Yes, my lord," slurred the machine.

Theron had no choice but to follow the droid. He glanced over his shoulder when he left; Saikrâm was still standing next to the holoportrait, watching him go.

ooOOoo

The room was luxurious but not gaudy. The tapestry was bright red with black and golden embroidery. A holostation stood in the corner. Theron immediately checked if it was secure and used his personal encryption program to add additional privacy. He had no doubt that they were trying to listen in, but he still had to confirm what Saikrâm had told him.

At first he tried to call Gnost-Dural, a Kel Dor Jedi he had worked with once. After a few moments, the Jedi answered the call.

"Agent Shan, I did not expect to hear from you."

"Master Gnost-Dural, I-"

"I'm very sorry, but we are under strict orders not to talk to you."

"What? By whom?"

"The new director of the SIS."

"Who-"

"Good-bye, Theron. May the Force be with you."

Before Theron could utter another syllable, the Jedi had disconnected. He played with the thought of calling some other contacts, but he realised that would be a wasted effort. If even a practical Jedi Master who knew him refused to speak to him it could only mean that Saikrâm had told the truth. He didn't know what rumours this new director of the SIS was spreading about him – but if it was enough for Gnost-Dural it was bad.

Theron walked over to the large bed and let himself fall on it. On the other hand, here he was – an honoured guest in the Emperor's Wrath's mansion, working together with Imps. Even if his former allies were willing to listen to him, how would he explain that?

He sighed. It would've been so much easier if they had simply captured him. But they didn't even imprison him, and he had willingly worked together with them – with the enemy, during wartime. Theron buried his face in his hands. Damn it!

Finally, he got up. It didn't matter – the old director of the SIS had always told him that spies were sanitation workers, cleaning up the messes nobody would want to and nobody was supposed to know about. Doing the nasty, ugly stuff to keep the Republic safe.

That hadn't changed. He would still protect the Republic from this conspirator, whoever it might be.


	5. For this is the end

A few days later, Theron watched Saikrâm spar against Lana. Theron had rejected Saikrâm's challenge yet again, but agreed to witness the two Sith fight. It was rather spectacular seeing such powerful Force-users fight against each other. They pulled no punches and after about ten minutes, they called it even. The Sith fought differently from the Jedi Theron had seen. They were more aggressive, but at the same time they moved more and where thus harder to hit.

They were both bleeding from small cuts, but neither seemed bothered by it.

Just as Lana was wiping her face with a towel, Vette entered the training room. "Over already? Awww, I wanted to watch too."

"Sorry, Vette – I will call you the next time," replied Saikrâm. "But if you want, we could spar now."

"Sure!" Vette said with so much vigour that Theron almost choked on his caf. "As long as the same rules apply as always."

"Of course." Saikrâm chuckled and started to strip his robe and unfasten his armour.

Theron couldn't keep his eyes from Saikrâm – he hadn't seen the man without mask or armour until now. He knew of course that he was a Sith pureblood, but everything else …

Vette stripped off her jacket and removed her boots and stepped in the middle of the room. She stretched a little bit and did some shadow boxing. But Theron only saw that from the corner of his eye: His attention was completely on Saikrâm, who was now removing his chest armour. He wore a simple black tunic underneath, and when he removed his gloves, Theron saw that he had several rhombic tattoos on his red-skinned arms, but on each arm there seemed one tattoo missing in the pattern.

Finally, he reached for his mask and with a hissing noise he removed the clamps that held it in place. Saikrâm pulled the mask from his face and Theron was surprised to see a young, unmarred, handsome face adorned with golden piercings. He had longish tendrils and short black hair, he ran a hand through it before continuing to strip his armour down.

Theron couldn't help but stare at him, and he sucked in his breath before pulling himself together and averting his gaze. After a few moments, he looked again and saw that Saikrâm had joined Vette in the middle of the room. He was considerably taller than her, and his well-defined muscles made him look even stronger than when he was wearing his armour.

How in the galaxy did they spar together? Theron leaned forward in his seat, barely realising when Lana sat down next to him.

Vette tried to hit Saikrâm with a very quick jab. He sidestepped the hit and grabbed her arm. She quickly grabbed his hand and spun around it until he had to let her go. She was quick with her next attack, but Saikrâm dodged all her strikes until he suddenly clenched his hand to a fist and counter-attacked. Vette dodged it and took a few steps back and grinned at him. He smiled back and beckoned her to come closer. She stepped closer and let herself suddenly drop on the floor while trying to bring Saikrâm down with a sweeping movement with her right leg. He stumbled and had to take a step back, but he didn't fall.

Theron gasped in surprise. She had managed to land a hit on him!

Vette jumped back on her feet and continued her attack, but Saikrâm blocked her a few times before pushed her away with his open hand. Vette stumbled and fell on her butt, holding her sternum while grimacing.

"Are you alright?" Saikrâm asked, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah, yeah, you just scratched me a little with your nails," Vette replied and rose to her feet.

They returned to Lana and Theron, and Theron saw that Vette was bleeding a little from superficial wounds **.** A quick look at Saikrâm showed he had sharp claws - or rather, pointy nails – adhered to the ends of his fingers. Another Sith pureblood trait he hadn't seen before.

"To be continued – I had you on the ropes!" Vette said.

"I'm sorry, perhaps you should let Quinn have a look at the scratches?" Saikrâm said.

Quinn entered right at that moment, holding a data pad. But, sizing up the situation, he put it away and pulled a medical scanner from his utility belt. Theron watched him putting a little kolto gel on Vette's skin; it seemed he was a medic on top of being Saikrâm's military adviser. And that guy wanted to learn how to slice too?

After he had checked her out, Quinn straightened himself and stood almost at attention when he addressed Saikrâm: "My lord, I think I have found a lead on Darok and Arkous. I believe that they are on Rishi and are gathering their forces on the planet."

Saikrâm laughed and put both his hands on Quinn's shoulders and squeezed them. "I knew I could count on you!"

"Thank you, my lord," Quinn replied in his usual manner, but then a shy smile flashed over his face.

Theron checked the progress of his cross-referencing program on his data pad – there were no mentions of Rishi. "I got nothing – which cross-reference leads did you follow?"

"I didn't follow cross-reference leads at all. I worked on a theory that the conspiracy was indeed as big as it appeared and calculated the next steps of our enemies: They have risked a lot by attacking Tython and Korriban simultaneously. They even risked detection, and with us on their tails, had to assume their plans could be exposed sooner or later. So I assumed that they had to amass their forces for the next step – whatever it might be."

"And you didn't find this out by cross-referencing? How?" inquired Theron, still scrolling through his data pad.

"Vette's suggestion that a lowly snitch would be more valuable than a complex program gave me an idea: I used to be responsible for logistics when I was on Balmorra – and even the most secret black-ops mission High Command ordered still needed logistics, simple administrative task like preparing vehicles, fuel and ammunition. Even the lowly ensign in charge of military gear always knew when a mission was planned. Every military plan relies on logistics. If an army can't secure supply lines, even the most powerful military forces are forced to retreat."

"Of course," said Lana and rubbed her chin. "They had to find ways to bring their troops and weaponry to one place."

"Exactly, and if we assume that Darok and Arkous are both using Republic and Imperial forces respectively, there wouldn't be overlapping action picked up by cross-referencing because the administrative steps taken to position troops and weaponry is different in every army and navy. And they were smart enough to use different spaceport as interstations before arriving on their designated planet."

"By the stars that has to be the most sadistic way to hide a secret plan: bureaucracy!" Vette proclaimed.

Theron stared at Quinn with awe. "You – you read Republic logistics manuals? All of them?" The thought alone gave Theron a headache. "I couldn't never ever – that's incredibly heroic of you!"

Quinn pressed his lips together until they were a thin line and shifted from one leg to another. "If you would excuse me, I need to prepare for our departure." He turned to leave but stopped dead in his tracks and faced Saikrâm again. "Apologizes, my lord. I'm of course awaiting your next order."

Saikrâm smiled at him. "You're right of course, we will go to Rishi – thank you, Quinn."

"My lord." Quinn bowed and turned on his heel.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Theron after Quinn had vanished.

"He isn't good at getting praise," replied Vette. "Makes him all flustered."

"I will go and make preparations as well," Lana said, and strode together with Vette towards their quarters.

Theron watched them leave, still trying to process that he had again failed to add something of importance to their undertaking. He had been so sure that his flawlessly programmed cross-reference program would bring them closer to some answers.

Although he had grown strangely comfortable around his strange new allies, he now felt the iron grip of fear around his heart. Suddenly he was keenly aware how close Saikrâm stood to him.

"Agent Shan?"

Theron slowly turned around, his pulse elevated. Saikrâm's mask had unnerved him in the past, but now he wished he hadn't had to look in his glowing red eyes.

Theron licked his lips. "Yeah?"

"Perhaps it's time that we talked about your contribution to our mission?"

"I'm not certain that there is much to talk about – I promised stuff and I'm not delivering." He crossed his arms and tried to stand as straight as possible.

"Did you lie to us? Did you know that you wouldn't be as helpful as you said?" Saikrâm asked, his voice calm.

Theron gulped. "Well, I may have exaggerated a bit back on Manaan. But I did truly believe that I could contribute – and that I will."

Saikrâm took a step back and grabbed a towel. "I don't sense deceit in your words. As Vette has already pointed out to me: If you weren't honest about it, you would've made up intel. That would've been much more convenient for you."

Theron threw his hands in the air. "Of course I wouldn't make up stuff! I want to get to the bottom of this. Otherwise I wouldn't have joined forces with you."

Saikrâm used the towel to wipe his face. "That's perfectly logical of course. The only thing that puzzles me is that you trust that we won't get rid of you."

"Perhaps you will, but there's nothing I can do about it. But after everything I've seen since becoming your … guest I guess I got the feeling that you are ready to use every available resource to get to the conspirators. And it's possible that I could become useful at a later point."

"Spot on, Agent." Suddenly his cheerful disposition changed and he grabbed Theron by his lapels and hissed: "But don't mistake my leniency for weakness – you are an SIS agent and I can't expect your loyalty, but know this: Should _any_ harm come to my companions, I will dismember you piece by piece, even if I have to look for you the rest of my natural and my unnatural life."

He let him go; Theron stumbled backwards and fell on his butt.

His pulse was now even more erratic. Theron was no stranger to danger, but the sudden change in Saikrâm had taken him by surprise.

"Uh … I knew there was an evil Sith somewhere in there," he quipped.

"There is nothing evil about looking out for the ones you care about," replied Saikrâm coldly. Then his face softened. "I'm certain you understand. You have a family, yes? A lover perhaps? Wouldn't you do everything to keep them safe?"

Theron got back on his feet. So Saikrâm didn't know about his mother despite having found out about his last name? That was at least something. "Sure, but there was no need to give me a heart attack."

"On the contrary, it was necessary." Saikrâm offered Theron his hand.

Theron grabbed it and let himself be pulled back on his feet. "If you think so – but only a fool would underestimate a Sith."

"That's not the point – the point is that you realise that unlike some other Sith I'm very protective of my crew."

Theron lifted his hands in the air. "Alright, alright. I got it the first time."

"Good." Saikrâm turned on his heel and left.

ooOOoo

Theron returned to his room and collected his baggage – not that it was much since he had joined Saikrâm's crew with literally nothing. Since then he had received some basic clothes from 2V and a second data pad. He put his few belonging in a dark duffle bag and frowned a little when he discovered the Imperial emblem on it. He grabbed the bag and exited his room – there was no need to become squeamish now about something so minor.

But as he walked towards the shuttle pad he registered that he was still pondering on the emblem, he wasn't sure why it bothered him so much. But then caught a fleeting look of himself in the glass of a window: He wore dark clothes, had a serious expression on his face and looked a little pale – he looked like all the Imperials around him.

Theron activated his writ holo and called 2V.

"Agent Shan, how may I be of service?"

"I need you to order clothes from the city and bring them to the ship before we leave the planet."

"Clothes?"

"Yes, I need two shirts and two jackets, size 43 – I don't care about the specifics, they just have to have … some colour. Anything but black and grey."

"Of course, Agent Shan. I will deliver them to you as fast as possible – and please don't forget to tell my master how obliging I was."

"Sure, thanks 2V."


	6. Let the sky fall

Rishi turned out to be a beautiful planet with sand beaches. The capital sat in a warm climate zone and the moment Theron stepped out of the _Desolator,_ he felt like a rock fell off his chest. He took a deep breath and took in the scenery: various aliens and natives were filling the busy streets – from the look of it, the off-worlders were mostly smugglers and pirates.

Quinn stepped next to him and looked around. Theron gave him a lopsided grin. "Fascinating, isn't it?" He waited for a haughty stare and imp-typical condescension.

"It is, Agent," replied Quinn. He stared at two Rishii natives walking past them. They were bird-like humanoids with colourful feathers and wooden collars. "I have never seen a species with natural aerial capabilities. Do you think their wings are strong enough to carry them for a prolonged duration?"

"Uh- I don't know," Theron said and scratched his head.

Vette joined them and nudged Quinn. "You could just ask them, Mal. Didn't your mama tell you that staring is rude?"

Quinn straightened his uniform jacket and cleared his throat. "You are right of course, Vette." He followed the Rishii until he had caught up with them. He nodded politely at them and began to talk.

"I didn't think he would actually do it," said Theron.

"Meh, I'm not surprised. Quinn is perhaps the most curious person I've ever met. You should've seen him on Makeb – he scanned _every_ mesa we were on. What a nerd."

Theron observed how the Rishii's and Quinn's conversation became rather animated. "If I didn't knew better I would think he's enjoying himself."

Vette laughed. "Don't say that too loud, otherwise he might close up again."

"What? Is enjoyment forbidden in the Empire?"

Suddenly he felt two heavy hands on his shoulders; Saikrâm stood right behind him. How in the galaxy did this tall man move so quietly?

"Of course not, Agent Shan. We enjoy ourselves quite a bit." He squeezed Theron softly and let go of him. "Nice jacket – I think red rather suits you."

"Thanks, then I have to commend 2V for his taste on this one – the sickly green one on the other hand is a little too adventurous for me."

Quinn returned and when Lana finally joined them, they gathered around.

"We will proceed as discussed," said Saikrâm. "We will gather intel in small teams and meet up on the _Desolator_ at 18:00 hours. Lana, you are on your own. Agent Shan with me, Vette and Quinn -"

"Really? I will stick out like a sore thumb with Mal, can't I team up with Lana?"

"Thank you for your vote of confidence," Quinn retorted.

"You're welcome," Vette said and punched him on his upper arm.

"Lana will use more aggressive tactics to gather information, you and Quinn are supposed to scour through the cantinas in the south." Saikrâm looked straight at Theron. "We are going north."

ooOOoo

Theron leaned against the counter and scanned the cantina with his eyes: despite the loud music and the dim light it was actually a nice place. The tables and the stools looked comfortable and clean. The drinks were decent, too, Theron discovered after he took a sip of his cool beverage.

"So, why did you want to team up with me? Did you trust the others to keep an eye on me?"

Saikrâm laughed. "No, not at all. Despite their bickering Vette and Quinn work really well together and Lana isn't the type for teamwork."

"Alright, now that that's settled, let us hear what the scum has to say."

"I suggest that you mingle with the crowd while I stay here."

"Suit yourself."

Theron grabbed his drink and proceeded to one of the tables in the back; right next to him, a group of shady-looking humans was partying hard. Something about them seemed off, but Theron couldn't put his finger on it.

His gut told him that it might pay off listening in on them. He let himself fall on one of the chairs and made that his motions appear bumbling as if he was tipsy.

"… she looked at me, like you know, like she wanted me to grab her ass!" said a middle-aged light skinned man.

His friends just laughed. "Yeah, right – you're an idiot, Krell!"

"What? She did!"

An olive-skinned woman took a gulp of her beer bottle and laughed even louder. "Is your mirror broken or something? Why would a woman like that even want to be in the same room as you?"

Another man added: "You have no idea how much money we're making out of this – and you got yourself fired because you were too dumb to keep your hands to yourself."

"The other employers didn't mind!" protested Krell.

"Yeah, but these guys are _professionals,_ dude! They don't want to deal with this kind of nonsense."

Theron was listening closely. Was he really that lucky?

Suddenly an elderly white-haired woman banged her glass on the table and hissed: "You stupid morons! You talk about professionalism and yet you scream about your employer in a kriffing cantina? Pull yourselves together!"

"Yes, boss."

"Sorry, boss."

The woman in charge relaxed and took a sip of her whiskey. "Easy people. We're here to enjoy a nice evening. Just remember that silence is golden."

To Theron's chagrin, they changed the subject and entertained themselves with bad jokes and cock-and-bull stories about their amorous exploits. He played with the thought to befriend some of them and to see if he could loosen their tongues, but their boss seemed sharp – she would undoubtedly take note.

No, it was smarter to wait and to follow them. He gulped down his drink and immediately ordered another – after all he had to keep up the act. From the corner of his eye he saw Saikrâm standing at the bar, he was talking to a Devaronian woman with an eye-patch. It seemed that the Sith wasn't half bad at small talk - the woman laughed about something he had said.

Strange, Saikrâm really didn't seem like a Sith. Apart from his threat he had been … agreeable. The journey to Rishi had taken a few days and Theron had another chance to watch the Imps interact with each other and he still had been surprised again and again how they worked, laughed and relaxed together. Or was this nothing special and he simply had never witnessed Imperial camaraderie?

Before Theron had time to muse further on the subject, the group next to him stood up and payed their tab. Theron made an effort to ignore them until they were out of the door, then he slowly got up and followed them. He glanced at Saikrâm and caught his eye – he nodded at the Sith before he left the cantina.

Outside he cautiously followed the group and kept his distance. They sauntered to a small amphibious shuttle in the harbour. Theron cursed under his breath, since he had no vehicle, he couldn't follow them. The only course of action was to bug the shuttle. It was risky but perhaps it was the only lead they would get in the next couple of days.

Theron quickly programmed one of his bugs he had prepared in advance with this implant and crept closer to the shuttle. He stopped behind large crates and peeked at the humans. Almost the whole group was now inside – it was now or never!

He had just attached the bug with a magnet when he felt a blaster muzzle against the back of his head. Theron froze.

"What is a nice boy like you doing in a harbour like this?" asked a female voice. "There is more than one blaster trained on you – on your feet. Nice and slow."

Theron cursed under his breath. Damn it! He had been too rash! He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and stood up. When he turned around he saw that it was the gang's boss who was standing behind him. Beside her were indeed two men, each holding a blaster in their hands.

"Well?" asked the boss.

"You guys were partying pretty hard, I thought that you had a stash of spice or something somewhere," Theron drawled, pretending to be tipsy.

She smirked. "Really? For a drunk you're pretty apt with that bug." She snapped with her fingers and one of her thugs grabbed the bug and gave it to her. She looked at it and her grin widened. "An expensive, state of the art bug I might add. Pretty good for a small-time crook."

Before Theron could answer, she slapped him across the face.

"You are no criminal. Who are you working for?"

Theron pressed his lips together and glared at her.

"Alright, suit yourself. You will talk, it's just a matter of time. Boys, shackle and gag him – methinks that our employer should have a look at him. His timing is more than suspicious."

A queasy feeling took hold of Theron. He quickly thought of fighting his way out, but three against one weren't very good odds, especially if they had their blasters trained on him. He tensed up a little, waiting for an opportunity and when one of the grunts stepped closer to shackle him, he grabbed him and took him into a choke-hold.

The boss took aim and shot Theron in his right leg before he could use the grunt as shield. With a cry of pain Theron fell on the ground, holding his injured thigh. Moments later he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and everything went dark.

ooOOoo

The first thing Theron felt when he regained consciousness was a dull throbbing pain in his head. His right thigh also burned, he dimly registered. He groaned and tried to move, only to discover that he was bound to a metallic plank with his wrists over his head and his legs tied to the bottom of it. And he was naked, save for the bandage on his leg. The only source of light in the room was above him, painting the rest of the room in darkness.

Damn it, that meant that they had taken all his spikes and bugs from him. Theron tried to activate them remotely with his implant despite the headache, but could not reach them.

Steps approached and seconds later a masked figure stepped into the light. His clothes and his mask were dark with golden embroidery and jewellery. There was little doubt that the man was a Sith.

"You are familiar," said the masked man in a mellow voice. He reached out and touched Theron's cheek. "But I don't know how."

Theron tried to smile nonchalantly at him. "Perhaps we can figure out together. It would help if you would tell me who you are."

The man didn't answer, instead he lifted his hand and held it a few centimetres away from Theron's face. "Why did you come to Rishi? Tell me."

Theron felt suddenly lightheaded. There was something about the man's voice that gave him the feeling he could trust him … tell him everything. Just when he was about to open his mouth his implants activated and discharged. The fresh pain cleared his mind up – Theron had almost fallen for a mind-trick.

"Ah, your amusing cranial trinkets – how negligent of me." The masked man sounded amused. "I guess we'll have to resort to the old-fashioned approach, shall we?"

Theron didn't like the sound of that at all. He had to buy time. "Already tired of my company? Don't you want to introduce yourself at least?"

The man crossed his arms. "I'm Revan."

"Revan? So you named yourself after a galactic legend?"

"Galactic legend – I like that. But no, it's inconsequential if you believe me or not, but I'm Revan. I have been both Jedi and Sith and I have come again to unite the galaxy."

Was this guy for real? Did he actually believe that he was Revan? Theron almost chuckled, but the headache seemed to get worse and the pain in his leg didn't help either. "Revan died hundreds of years ago. You can't be him," he pressed out.

"Of course I am, but I don't expect a Force-blind gnat like you to understand."

Theron realised that he had to keep him talking. "I don't need the Force to do basic math – or did you find the fountain of youth?"

"I find your lack of respect insulting," Revan growled.

"Is that why you wear this mask? To hide your wrinkles?" As soon as the words had left his mouth Theron thought that it wasn't probably the smartest move to insult an insane Force-user while being bound to a table.

Lighting started to crackle from Revan's fingertips and the last thing Theron felt before he slipped into the merciful unconsciousness was horrible pain, as if his insides were being torn from his body.


	7. When it crumbles

Every time Theron regained consciousness he felt sick, searing pain cursed through his body, and somebody screamed at him. At some point, it seemed to be Revan, but at times he was certain that it was the elderly woman from the gang that had brought him to this horrible place.

One time he woke up, shivering from the cold – he was still strapped to the chilly metallic table. Theron was so thirsty his sore throat felt like sandpaper. His every limb hurt, he didn't remember what they had done to him or if he had talked, he didn't even know how long he had been here. All he knew was that he had to escape. Theron tried to access his implants but to his horror he discovered that they were non-responsive. What had they done to him? Panic started to rise in his chest; how was he supposed to get away when not even his implants worked?

He heard a door slide open and light footsteps approached him. Theron flinched when the boss of the gang stepped into the light.

"Awake already? You know, I feel sorry for you. I don't enjoy torturing you with interrogation droids, but it's business. Why don't you tell me what you know? At least you'll die quickly."

"I won't," whispered Theron in a hoarse voice. So he had kept quiet; relief and fear washed over him.

"Don't make it so hard on yourself. Everybody breaks eventually." Her voice sounded concerned.

Theron just glared at her.

She shook her head and stepped to a console just outside the light. A humming noise above Theron made him look up. Two small interrogation droids floated towards him, their countless arms with shockers and sharp knives ready.

Theron tore at his shackles with all his might, but it was in vain. His heart beat so fast that it felt like it would break into pieces. Tears welled up in his eyes and he whispered, "I won't give in" over and over again.

A piercing scream made him turn his head toward the woman at the console. She still stood at the same place as before, but a red-bladed lightsaber was sticking out of her chest. With a gargling sound, she fell hard on the floor, the lightsaber was turned off and Saikrâm stepped into the light. He lifted his hands and made fists. The droids were crumpled in mid-air.

Theron laughed and cried at the same time, never in his life had he been so happy to see a Sith. Finally he would get out of here – he would be safe!

Quinn and Vette stepped into the light, their blasters drawn. Quinn quickly put his gun in his holster and pulled a scanner and a kolto pack from his utility belt.

"I will release him," Vette said, and ran to the console.

"Try not to move, Agent Shan." Quinn scanned him and his brows furrowed. "You are lucky to be alive."

Tears streamed from Theron's eyes. "It doesn't feel like that."

Quinn prepared an injection. "This will make you sleep."

Theron barely felt the puncture and in a matter of seconds his eyes slid shut and he fell in a dreamless sleep.

ooOOoo

The next time Theron woke up he felt weightless, warm and secure. He slowly opened his eyes and realised that he was floating. A breathing mask was strapped to his face and after a few ragged attempts to breathe, he calmed down and discovered that he could do so without trouble.

A kolto tank … How long had he been in there? Theron tried to access his implants remotely to get his bearings, but to his dismay they didn't react to his inputs.

He tried to reach out to touch the glass but he could move his arms only a few centimetres – they were heavy and felt strange. There was no pain, only a certain heaviness …

Theron stopped moving and looked around. He was in a med bay. Had a mission gone wrong? Was he in the SIS medical centre on Coruscant?

Suddenly the door slid open and a dark-haired man in a tank top and with a towel around his neck entered. The man wiped his face with the towel and directed his gaze at Theron.

"Agent Shan, you are awake."

Theron was at first confused by his Imperial accent, but then memories flooded back into his mind. Manaan, Lana Beniko … his time on Dromund Kaas and finally Rishi. And iron grip took hold of his heart when he realised that nothing of that had been a bad dream.

Quinn approached the kolto tank and checked its readings. He typed something into his data pad. "You have been seriously injured, as medical officer, I will recommend to Lord Saikrâm to keep you for another 12 hours in the tank, just to make sure that there will be no permanent damage to your nervous system."

Nervous system? A shiver of fear rand down Theron's spine – was that the reason he could barely move? He tried to lift his right hand, and focussed all his strength into the movement.

"You will recover fully," continued Quinn, "you may have trouble moving right now but that will pass. It's merely a side-effect of being in a kolto tank."

Theron relaxed again.

"I assume that you tried to access your implants? They were fused when you were … tortured." Quinn wiped his face again. "I will inform Lord Saikrâm and Vette that you're awake. They were worried."

He strode out of the med bay.

Moments later Saikrâm and Vette entered, followed by Quinn.

"Good to see you, Theron!" said Vette and put her hand on the glass of the kolto tank.

Saikrâm was wearing a dark robe, and no mask. Theron felt a wave of relief seeing him, the same intense feeling he had when he realised back on Rishi that Saikrâm had come for him. No, that wasn't right – he hadn't come for him, Saikrâm had just made sure that he could access the intel Theron had gathered.

Why did he even think that he had come for him? It was absurd.

Saikrâm smiled. "You were quite a mess, Agent Shan. Good thing that Quinn is a skilled medic. He worked for hours to stabilize you." His voice softened. "I'm glad that you're going to be okay."

Theron blinked in surprise. They sounded so sincere. Why were these Imps so concerned with a disavowed SIS agent? And why did it feel so good hearing these words?

Quinn cleared his throat. "I will give you a mild sedative to let you sleep for the next couple of hours. Then you can get out of that tank."

Theron already felt tired, his mind had become clearer but was still a little numb. Sleeping sounded nice … Quinn pressed a few buttons on the tank and Theron fell asleep again.

ooOOoo

"Agent Shan?"

Theron woke up and saw that Quinn was standing in front of his tank. He wore his usual Imperial uniform and held a data pad.

Theron nodded slowly.

"I will drain the kolto – please prepare yourself."

Theron nodded again, although he hadn't a clue how he was supposed to prepare himself.

Quinn pushed some buttons on the tank and with a gargling sound, the bluish liquid began to drain. In a matter of seconds, Theron's feet felt the floor and he was finally standing on his own. His body felt heavy, but he could move his hands again. Theron lifted his arms and noticed new scars on them. Then he reached up and removed the breathing mask.

Quinn stepped next to him and scanned him. "According to the readings you are completely healed. There was nothing I could do about the scars. I'm a medic not a surgeon."

Theron handed him the mask. "I'm just glad you could patch me up – thanks," he said in a raspy voice.

"No thanks necessary. Service is its own reward," Quinn replied and gave Theron a towel.

"So, how did you guys get me out of there – wherever it was?" Theron rubbed himself dry and carefully slipped out of the medical underwear he had been in.

"Lord Saikrâm contacted us as soon as you had left the cantina. We arrived just in time to see them drag you aboard their ship. It took us about a day to find the vessel and its location. After having reconnoitred the area, we infiltrated the camp. We found you and returned to the _Desolator_." Quinn handed Theron a package of basic clothes.

Theron opened it and began to dress. There was still a dull pain in his joints. He noticed that there were scars all over his body. "I had an unpleasant talk with the boss, at least I think it was the boss. I think it's best if we met in the conference room so that I can brief you. What about the camp? Are they still there?"

"Lord Beniko is observing them, we suspect that they will move their camp soon."

Theron had finished dressing and spotted a mirror in the far back of the med bay. He walked over and prepared to see his mistreated face. The first thing he noticed were the burned-out implants on his temple – they had literally turned black. He touched them softly, then he saw that there was a ugly scar running over the lower part of his face and his lips. He traced the scar tissue with his fingertips.

"I need to talk to Saikrâm. Perhaps there is a way to salvage something from my botched mission," Theron said quietly.

ooOOoo

"Revan, huh?" asked Saikrâm and crossed his arms.

Theron nodded. "That's what he said. It was strange … the way he talked about it. He really seemed to believe it."

"Well, a couple of years ago Sai and I met a cult on Dromund Kaas," said Vette with a frown. "They called themselves Revanites and claimed to follow the path of Revan. They seemed harmless at the time, but is it possible that they have become militant?"

Saikrâm rubbed his chin. "We killed the Sith who was posing as Revan, but perhaps they have found a new leader?"

"Must be a heck of a new leader if she or he has managed to recruit people in the upper brass of the Empire and the Republic and convinced them to take action against their own people," Vette replied.

Quinn leaned back in his chair. "This Revan claimed to know you, Agent Shan. If that is true, we could try to find out who he really is."

"No, he did not say that he knew me – he said that I was 'familiar'." Theron got up from his chair and started to pace. "It's an odd choice of words. How can I be familiar? Either he knows me or he doesn't."

"Well, he is obviously a Force-user," interjected Saikrâm. "Some Force-users can recognize unique Force signatures. I can, for example, recognize Lana's signature because we have worked together such a long time."

Theron didn't like the direction the conversation was heading. He didn't want to reveal his parentage, but he had to admit that it could be the key to discover who this Revan really was. "But if it was someone I have worked with, he would remember me, right?"

Saikrâm nodded. "That is true. It this all you remember about him, Agent Shan?"

Theron stopped pacing. "Yeah, I mean … I think so. I remember the initial interrogation, but the rest is just a blur."

"I would like to try to help you remember. There is a Force-technique -"

"No!" Theron said, sharper than he had intended.

Saikrâm smiled a little. "I'm shocked that you wouldn't allow a Sith into your mind. But I ask you to reconsider. Time is running out and we need every available lead to get to the bottom of this."

"Well, you're not only asking him to let you rummage his brain, but also to help him remember horrible torture he has been subjected to. It's not exactly an appealing prospect," Vette said.

Theron rubbed his temples. There was no way he could allow a Sith to use some mind-trick or whatever! But what was the alternative? It was more than possible that there was an important lead buried in his brain – and it was only Saikrâm after all. Wait a moment, 'it was only Saikrâm after all?' What was that supposed to mean? That he trusted him?

Theron resumed his pacing. Did he indeed trust Saikrâm? Theron remembered the feeling he had when he saw Saikrâm in the hellhole he where had been held captive: joy, relief, security. Damn it!

Theron sighed. "Alright, we can try to jog my memory – but don't touch my other memories."

Saikrâm's smile broadened. "Of course! Let's head to my quarters – we need a quiet room."


	8. We will stand tall

Theron followed Saikrâm to his room. When he stepped inside he first registered the large bed, a cupboard and a thick red carpet on the floor. The room was quite plain and cramped, though it was adorned with small shelves holding relics and small holocron.

Saikrâm sat on the soft carpet and crossed his legs. Theron followed his example.

"Try to think of the moment when they captured you – I will try to guide you through your memories." Saikrâm lifted his hands. Theron noticed again the sharp claws the Sith pureblood possessed. "Don't worry, I just need to touch you to connect with you – it's easier that way."

Theron nodded.

Saikrâm reached out and took Theron's face between his warm, rough hands. The tips of his claws barely touched his skin.

"Close your eyes and try to remember," Saikrâm instructed.

Theron took a deep breath and did as he was told. He thought back to the evening in the cantina on Rishi and how he and Saikrâm had entered it. Then he went through the events in his mind until he was at the harbour. Theron felt a knot in his stomach was soon as he recalled the feeling of the blaster against his head.

"Tell me where you are," said Saikrâm and it felt as if his hand had become warmer, it calmed Theron.

"I've been caught. They are about to knock me out."

"What do you remember next?"

Theron frowned, his eyes still closed. "It's dark, cold. I'm scared. I'm bound to a table of some sort. A guy in a mask is stepping into to the pool of light surrounding me." Theron retold the conversation he had with Revan up to the point where he was stuck by Force lightning.

Theron screamed and opened his eyes wide. For a brief moment, he thought that he felt the electrical current flowing through his body.

Saikrâm was still holding his head firmly and leaned closer. "You are safe, Theron. What do you see next?"

Theron pressed his eyes shut and focussed on Saikrâm's voice. "Everything is a so confusing."

"What do you see?" asked Saikrâm, his voice soft and alluring.

Slowly an image formed before Theron's inner eye. Revan was standing over him, holding Theron's head by his hair. There was a dull pain on his scalp.

"You are of my blood! Weak, useless but still of my blood!" yelled Revan. "You are the spawn of Bastila's granddaughter, aren't you?"

Theron saw himself trying to retort, but he couldn't form words.

"There are no coincidences with the Force – why are you here?"

Revan shoot lighting from his fingertips and Theron flinched and gasped. He was frightened and wanted to jump up – run away, anything to get away from the pain. But then he heard a calm, strong voice: "You are safe."

Theron blinked a few times and realised that he was still sitting on a soft carpet, far away from Revan and the agony. The dreamlike state he had been in was now over and he stared at Saikrâm, whose face was very close to his own.

His eyes were glowing brightly, and Theron was mesmerized by them.

"Everything is alright, Theron. You're safe," Saikrâm said with a smile. He looked very handsome, the golden piercings flattered his beautiful rugged face and the eyes were so radiant -

Theron's breath quickened. Suddenly he felt he warmth of Saikrâm's hands burning on his cheeks. It had been weeks since anybody had touched him so intimately. For a split-second Theron was tempted to lean forward and plant a kiss on Saikrâm's inviting lips.

The way Saikrâm looked at him, with his lips half parted suggested that he was equally tempted. They leaned closer, but just before their lips made contact Theon flinched and pulled away.

Saikrâm let go of his face and gave Theron an inquiring look. Theron felt heat crawl up his neck and cheeks and cleared his throat.

"That's not a good idea." Theron got back on his feet and ran his hand through his hair. "I think I should go now."

"We haven't reviewed all your suppressed memories," remarked Saikrâm with a grin. "We aren't finished yet."

Theron couldn't help but look at Saikrâm again. By the stars, why was he so handsome? He pulled himself together. "We are finished for now. I need a break."

Without waiting for Saikrâm to respond, Theron strode out of the room. When he was in the corridor he realised that he hadn't thought about where he was heading. Thoughts about the fact that Revan might actually be _the_ Revan – his ancestor - became mixed up with the feeling he had experienced while almost kissing a kriffing _Sith lord_ and Theron buried his face in his hand. Damn it! Theron cursed under his breath.

Great job, Theron – you have surpassed yourself!

He exhaled and tried to calm down. There was no need for panic. His priorities were clear: The important thing was that there were actually useful memories still buried in his mind. And if the real Revan had taken over this obscure little cult, then they were in serious trouble.

Theron leaned against the wall and waited until his pulse had slowed down a little. The other important thing was that it would become difficult to conceal who his mother was. Either he could lie about it and come up with another explanation why he thought that Revan was real, or he simply admitted to his heritage. Both possibilities had advantages as well as disadvantages – either way it could end badly for him.

But considering that Saikrâm was interested in him and had been obliging towards him, it made more sense to come clean instead of dreading that further investigations revealed who he was. Theron's thoughts briefly returned to the look on Saikrâm's face when they were about to kiss each other - alone the image made him blush again.

Theron sighed. He had to be very careful and control his – his passions. He had been with women and men who had aroused him, but never like this. He had almost lost control! He just had to calm down and be reasonable. Yes, everything was under control.

He pushed himself away from the wall and stepped in front of Saikrâm's door. Before he could ring, the door slid open; Saikrâm stood right in front of him with a smug expression on his face.

"Back already?"

"Well, yeah, I - I just had to get a little fresh air," stammered Theron. Yeah, real smooth, you dork!

"Are you ready to continue?"

Theron cleared his throat. "Yeah, we can uh, have another go to let me relive hellish memories."

Saikrâm stepped back and gestured Theron to come in.

ooOOoo

Theron wiped across his sweaty face with shaking hands and let himself fall on his back. They had been working about two hours to reconstruct his memories – and to say that it was nightmarish mind torture would have been an understatement. He felt sick and his head hurt; his neck and his back were completely tensed up. All he wanted to do was lie on the soft, thick carpet and catch his breath.

Saikrâm got up and poured a glass of water from a carafe on the small nightstand. He handed it to Theron and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You are quite persistent. I hope you found useful memories?"

Theron propped up on his left elbow and drank the glass empty. "Well, I didn't keep going because it was so much fun." He put the glass on the nightstand and groaned when he lay back down.

"Are you in pain? Shall I call Quinn?" asked Saikrâm.

Theron shook his head. "Nope, I'm just exhausted. Give me a couple of minutes and I will tell you what I have learned."

"Alright, I will read Quinn's reports meanwhile."

Theron used a meditation technique Master Zho had taught him years ago. He closed his eyes and focussed on his heartbeat. It had a calming effect on him. He relaxed his muscles and fell slowly asleep. He dreamt of Master Zho and their training when Theron was but a boy, the voice of his old Master sounding as pleasant as ever, encouraging him to focus on his exercises.

Suddenly they were in front of the Jedi temple on Tython. Theron held his master's hand and looked up to him.

"It's going to be alright, Theron. Just go in there and tell them what they want to hear," Zho said with a friendly smile.

Theron let go of his hand and walked slowly towards the large doors. He pulled them open with great effort and slipped into the temple before the door slammed shut. Inside the temple was only a bright pool of light in the middle of the room. He was frightened but he still walked towards it. Three Jedi stood next to a desk with holocrons on it.

Masters Din and Shaa'ri were waiting for him. The newly appointed Grand Master of the Jedi Order stood behind them: Satele Shan, his own mother whom he had never seen in person before. He looked at her, waiting for any sign of recognition. But she simply looked at him with friendly indifference.

"You are familiar," she finally said, then she came closer, reached out and touched Theron's cheek. "But I don't know how."

"Tell us who you are and why you are here," said Master Din.

Theron cleared his throat. "I'm Theron, Master Zho's apprentice and I want to become a Jedi."

"Step to these holocrons and open one of them." Master Din's voice sounded now less pleasant.

Theron approached the table and took one of the holocrons in his hands. He focussed on it like Master Zho had taught him, but it didn't open.

Din finally took the holocron from him and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Theron. Your connection to the Force is too weak, you can't become a Jedi."

Theron began to cry. "But – but I'm supposed to be a Jedi!" He looked at Satele. "Why can't I be a Jedi?"

Satele tilted her head and said in a deep voice: "You are familiar, but I don't know you."

Suddenly Theron was bound to the desk, which had transformed into a metallic table. Satele was still standing in front of him, but she was now wearing dark robes and a mask, but Theron simply knew that it was still her.

"Why did you come to Rishi? Tell me."

Theron wanted to explain to her that he just wanted to become a Jedi, but before he could answer she shot lightning at him and he screamed.

ooOOoo

When he woke up with a start, the first thing he saw was Saikrâm bending over him. Theron sat up and wiped his face. His heart was racing and he buried his face in his hands. By the stars, he hadn't dreamt about the test in the temple for years! Why now?

Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and the feeling of dread that had taken hold of him slowly faded away. Theron took a deep breath and looked up, Saikrâm had crouched down next to him. He seemed worried. There was no smile visible on lips - he just looked at Theron, squeezing his shoulder a little.

Theron felt the strong hand on his shoulder begin to stroke him. It felt reassuring and tender. Theron cupped Saikrâm's hand with his and replied in kind. The expression on Saikrâm's face changed and he started to breathe heavily.

He lifted his other hand to Theron's neck brushing over his jawline with his thumb. Theron couldn't avert his gaze, he simply had to stare into the beautiful glowing eyes. Feeling the tips of Saikrâm's claws on the sensitive skin of his neck made him warm and gave him a strange feeling of security.

Saikrâm moved his hand from the neck to Theron's cheek, caressing his face with his fingers.

Theron let go of the hand on his shoulder and placed his hand on Saikrâm's face, softly touching his tendrils. Saikrâm now knelt beside Theron, moving his left hand to Theron's chest while the right continued to caress his face.

Slowly Saikrâm leaned forward, his lips now only millimetres away from Theron's. Theron closed in and gave Saikrâm a peck on his lips, Saikrâm returned the light kiss equally guarded. Theron felt warm and safe, his lips still tingling from the sensation. Saikrâm now kissed his temple, his cheeks and the corner of his mouth, finally reaching his lips again. The next kiss was more intense and Theron's breath became slightly ragged. As the kiss got more intense, his pants started to get tight.

Saikrâm slid one hand under Theron's shirt and let his fingers wander over Theron's naked chest and stomach as Theron pulled down Saikrâm's upper robes.

They broke the kiss and Theron eyed the muscular chest in front of him and let his hands wander over Saikrâm's broad shoulders before he turned his attention to his face – the eyes burned even brighter than before. Theron was fully aware what he was about to do and that it wasn't the best idea, considering who he was and who Saikrâm was; but it simply felt so good, he wanted it and he wanted it so badly.

Theron gave Saikrâm another deep kiss, pushing his doubts far away.


	9. Face it all together

Theron gasped when Saikrâm let his hand glide over the bulge in his pants. Their kiss became more passionate and Theron put his right hand between Saikrâm's legs and began to stroke him.

Saikrâm stopped his caress and lifted Theron on the bed, while he knelt before him. Theron quickly opened his belt and Saikrâm pulled his boots from his feet, and hastily began to yank at his pants. In a matter of moments Theron had also stripped his shirt away and was now sitting in front on the edge of the bed in his underwear.

Saikrâm put his hand on Theron's chest and applied a little pressure. Theron lay down, his back on the bed but his feet still on the floor. Saikrâm let the tips of his claws scratch lightly against Theron's skin – there was a sense of danger and barbarity about it and the very thought aroused Theron even more. A shiver of lust ran through his body when the claws reached his abdomen and finally hooked into the bands of his boxers – they were pulled down slowly and once his hard cock was freed it smacked on his stomach.

Theron grabbed a pillow and put it behind his head – he had to see it; wanted to see what the Sith, what the Empire's Wrath was about to do to him. Saikrâm looked him straight in the eye and touched his cock with the claw of his index finger, again he let the sharp nail scratch over the skin and Theron held his breath until the claw had reached the glans. He exhaled sharply when Saikrâm closed his grip around his dick.

Saikrâm began to slide up and down Theron's full length. Theron closed his eyes and ground his hips against the hot hand. It felt so good … Theron lifted his legs and put them on Saikrâm broad shoulders, and when he felt Saikrâm's breath on his cock he opened the eyes just in time to watch Saikrâm lick his cock from base to top.

Theron moaned and clutched his legs around Saikrâm's shoulders to bring him nearer to his now fully erect cock. The Sith drew near and licked it again, then he lifted his gaze and gave Theron a lascivious grin.

"How far do you want do go?"

Theron wanted him desperately to caress him again and he quickly said: "All the way."

Saikrâm's grin widened. "As you wish." He reached down and seemed to grab something Theron couldn't see. Suddenly Theron felt a gentle pressure on the sensitive spot between his balls and his anus. Theron bit his lip and closed his eyes, his panting becoming more ragged when the pressure became more intense and circling, thrusting movements were added.

When the pressure disappeared, Theron groaned and wanted to protest, but before he could say anything he felt something wet and smooth travelling down to his butt. Saikrâm began to massage his hole, pouring what seemed to be lubricant over it. He increased the intensity of his massage, and began to push rhythmically against Theron's tight ring of muscles. It felt hot and arousing. Theron opened his eyes once again and set his sights on Saikrâm, who was holding a small dildo in his right while holding Theron's cock with his left hand – the focussed and horny look on his face so alluring that Theron wished he could kiss him.

Saikrâm lifted his head for a moment and made eye contact, and with a wolfish grin, he pushed the tip of the dildo in. Theron gasped and clenched, but when Saikrâm began to stroke his cock he relaxed. Saikrâm pushed the dildo in slowly. Theron felt pleasurably full and moaned loudly when the sex toy brushed a particularly sensitive spot.

Once again Saikrâm stopped his ministrations. Theron groaned when the hot warm hand left his cock, but the sight when Saikrâm got on his feet and stripped his lower robes and his underwear until he stood naked before Theron made it all up: Seeing his well-defined muscles, the Sith pureblood typical ridges on his chest, his stomach and his tights and finally on his proud erect dick almost took away Theron's breath.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered in awe.

Saikrâm gave Theron a cocky grin. "Of course I am." He came to the bed and climbed on it, kissing Theron before turning around so that he could suck Theron's dick and vice versa. Theron grabbed Saikrâm's cock at the base and began to swirl his tongue over his glans and the ridges at the shaft, the musky scent and the salty taste turned him further on – and the way Saikrâm sucked and licked him was pure ecstasy.

After a short while, Theron felt that he was about to cum.

Theron released Saikrâm's cock and panted: "I'm close."

Saikrâm abruptly stopped caressing Theron and literally jumped up – with a flick of his wrist Theron was lifted in the air and was turned on his stomach before landing on the bed again. The short display of his Force powers was so quickly over that Theron was almost dazzled as to why he was now lying differently.

Theron felt Saikrâm pull the dildo out, growling while positioning himself behind Theron. He felt how his butt cheeks were spread apart and lifted his butt in expectation. Saikrâm grabbed his hips and inserted the first inch of his cock into Theron's wet, still well-lubed hole. He gently moved back and forth, pushing further in.

Feeling him move inside him and the intense fullness he was experiencing made Theron groan loudly and he began to grind his hips against the Sith behind him. Saikrâm's grip became firmer and he started to thrust.

After a few moments Theron came, his scream muffled by the pillow he was lying on. Only a few thrusts later Saikrâm reached his climax and moaned loudly.

When Saikrâm had pulled out gently, Theron had caught his breath and turned around. He glanced at the wet spot on the bed where he had lain. "Sorry for the mess."

Saikrâm climbed on the bed and lay down next to Theron. He gave him a gentle kiss. "Don't apologize – that was great."

Theron blinked and gave Saikrâm a peck. "Yeah, it was."

Saikrâm trailed the scar on Theron's lip with the tip of his finger. "These scars suit you, you look like an swashbuckling adventurer."

Theron suddenly felt ill when his thoughts returned to Revan. He tried to smile; he didn't want to think about what he had to tell Saikrâm and said quickly: "I like your tattoos. What's their meaning?"

Saikrâm stroked Theron's cheek with his hand and smiled. "They are traditional Sith tattoos. Every family has their own, they symbolise our … uh glorious past – it's quite old-fashioned but my parents insisted that I get them once I graduated from the Sith academy."

Theron traced the black rhombic design on Saikrâm's arm until he reached his wrist. He tapped on it. "I saw that Vette and Quinn each have a tattoo right here – did you want to mark them as your own? They are wearing your tattoos, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," replied Saikrâm. At first it seemed that he wanted to add something, but he remained silent.

It was reason enough for Theron to dig deeper. "It that something Sith do?"

Saikrâm looked at him with a frown and said after a long pause: "No, not really. My parents were outraged, truth be told. But I wanted to show my crew how much I valued them." He pointed at his ankles, Theron saw that there were rhombic tattoos missing in the design as well. "I also gave one to my apprentice Jaesa and to Pierce. Broonmark … well, he was a Talz and couldn't wear one."

Theron put his hand on Saikrâm's shoulder. He didn't dare to ask, but it turned out that he didn't have to.

"We were trying to discover who was pitting the Republic and the Empire against each other – we followed a lead to Rakata Prime, a deserted planet, the grave of an ancient civilization," Saikrâm continued, "we split up and … it was a trap. It was too late when we finally found them; all we could do is ease their pain."

He let go of Theron and sat up. "The trap was meant for me. But instead of killing me, they murdered my friends. And they will regret it, I will make sure of that."

Theron propped up on his arm. "I got the feeling that this was personal for you."

Saikrâm got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom in the back of the room. "We have fought countless battles and we knew of course that some of us were bound to die – nobody is invulnerable. But it was supposed to last longer, much longer." He disappeared into the bathroom and moments later Theron heard the shower activating.

He wanted to check the time with his implants, only to discover that they weren't working of course. Theron groaned and rolled over. He found his portable holodevice in the pile of his clothes and checked the time: It was already past mid-night.

Saikrâm stepped back into the room, rubbing himself dry with a towel. He threw Theron another one, he caught it and slung it around his shoulders. Should he ask further about what had happened? He glanced at Saikrâm who was now starting to pull the bedsheets from his bed. No, the moment was over – but he would certainly learn more about the dead companions given enough time.

He stepped into the bathroom and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the large mirror next to the door. The harsh light showed every scar on his body. Naturally, he noticed that the encounter with Revan had left its marks – but seeing the bright scar tissue all over his body still shocked him.

Theron stepped closer to the mirror and stared at the slash on his face. Then he blinked and averted his gaze, then stepped into the shower and let hot water patter down on him.

ooOOoo

When Theron exited the restroom, he discovered that Saikrâm had changed the bedding and was now watching a Huttball match on a floating holo receiver. It was something so ordinary that Theron almost didn't believe his eyes; he wasn't sure what he thought that Sith did before going to sleep, but this wasn't certainly it.

"Do you want to stay or do you want to go back to your bunk?" Saikrâm asked, not taking his GOLDEN eyes off the match.

Theron also realised that he had thought that Saikrâm would send him on his way now that he was done with him. The fact that he invited him to stay made Theron smile a little. He cleared his throat: "Who's playing?"

"Tattooine Frogdogs against Hutta Wampas," Saikrâm replied, and scooted over.

Theron slid under the blanket. "Are you a supporter of either team?"

Saikrâm chuckled. "Not really, but one has to admire their commitment."

"I used to root for the Coruscant Flutterplumes. I even got a shirt and a hat with their insignia on them."

Saikrâm laughed. "Flutterplumes? Seriously? They are like the worst team in the whole league."

"Hey, they used to be good back in the day!"

Saikrâm ran his hand through Theron's moist hair. "That's cute. Did your parents take you to their matches? Or why did you take a liking to them?"

Theron gulped and felt heat crawl up his cheeks. "Uh, not exactly. I – I think I liked them because of their mascot – anyway uh I need to tell you something."

"That sounds serious. What is it? By the stars! Do you have a STD?" Saikrâm asked with faked outrage.

When Theron averted his gaze, the Sith became serious and put the holo off.

"Do … do you have an STD?"

"No, no," interjected Theron. He ran his hand through his hair and licked his lips. "Well, I remembered something that Revan said. He … he said that I'm of his blood." Theron couldn't continue; he couldn't say that he was Bastila Shan's grandson, Satele Shan's son. He settled for an omission: "My mother is a Jedi. I guess she is related to Revan."

He cautiously glanced at Saikrâm, whose eyes narrowed. "A Jedi?"

"Yeah, my father was a Republic soldier – they met during the last war. It didn't last."

Saikrâm rubbed his temples. "I wasn't aware that Revan had children." He glared at Theron. "Your mother is still a Jedi, yes? Then why didn't you ask her to help you? Surely she - "

Theron sighed. "Jedi aren't supposed to form attachments. She gave me away after the birth, so there was no point trying to contact her. We aren't close."

"What?" Saikrâm's frown deepened. "Jedi really do that?"

"Why so surprised? I thought you were aware of the Jedi Code."

"Of course. I'm surprised that they follow through." Saikrâm drew breath to continue, but Theron spoke before he could.

"I don't want to talk about it and it doesn't matter anyhow – the point is that there is a high possibility that we are indeed dealing with the real Revan."

"Hm, it is said that Revan could inspire loyalty like nobody else – that would certainly explain how he could convince high ranking Imperial and Republic soldiers to join his cause."

"Our task to root out the conspirators was difficult from the beginning – but if it is a legendary warlord and leader with centuries of experience and who knows what kind of resources we've got a problem."

Theron felt a headache coming on; here he was, sitting naked next to a Sith Lord he had just slept with and on top of that he had just told him about his parents. How did he get here? Damn it!

"We need to discuss this tomorrow with the others," Saikrâm said.

Theron nodded and pulled the blanket covering him back and sat up. Saikrâm was right of course, they had to think carefully what they would do next. Perhaps he had to … His thoughts were interrupted when Saikrâm spoke again:

"I thought you wanted to stay."

Theron froze and slowly turned around. "I thought now that you know about my mother you would want to send me on my way."

Saikrâm blinked with surprise. "Why do you think that changes anything?" Then his familiar grin returned. "If anything, it makes it more interesting – it's kinky, isn't it?"

"Maybe it is," Theron replied with a smile before he slipped back into the bed.


	10. What you see I see

When Theron arrived at the galley in the morning, Vette and Quinn were already eating breakfast. He took slice of bread and a cup of caf from the replimat and joined them at the table.

Vette beamed at Theron. "You look surprisingly rested – it seems that you and Sai ... worked all night!"

"Of course," retorted Theron, "we will brief you later about-"

"Too much information! I don't need to know what you two were up to!" Vette groaned.

Theron laughed. "I mean we will brief you about the things I remembered from when I was captured." The moment he said the words he recalled the images and the pain and his smile faded. He cleared his throat and tried to smile again. "And besides, I thought that you and Quinn wanted to spend some quality time together."

Vette chuckled and took a sip of her yumba juice. "Yeah, right."

From the corner of his eye he saw that Quinn shifted in his seat and blushed a little. He expected that Quinn would protest any moment, but he stayed silent and just stared into his oatmeal bowl.

ooOOoo

"Hm, interesting," Lana said after Theron had shared the newest information about Revan. She was still on Rishi and her holo image was a little distorted due to interference, but Theron could still clearly see how she glared at him.

"Did you discover where the Revanites main base is?" asked Saikrâm.

"I'm afraid my resources are too limited to determine where all these shipments are sent. I questioned some cult members before I disposed of them – some talked about Rakata Prime, others mentioned the Yavin system."

"Perhaps I could add these new parameters to my cross-reference program – they are bound to leave traces somewhere," Theron said.

"Good idea," Saikrâm replied.

"Shall I return or observe them further?" Lana asked.

Saikrâm nodded. "Come back, I doubt that you will learn more than you already have; and we need to contact trustworthy allies to deal with this. It's only a question of time until they strike in full force."

Lana bowed and ended the holo call. Theron exhaled and checked quickly his data pad. He was about to adjust the search parameters when Vette nudged him.

"So, your mom is a Jedi, huh?"

Theron shifted his weight from one leg to another. "Yeah, she is."

"What is she like? Do you remember her at all?"

He realised that she wouldn't let it go, even though Theron would rather not think about his mother, let alone talk about her and his relationship to her. He frantically thought about an excuse to get away from Vette, at least until he had the nerve to address the issue. His sight wandered from Vette to Saikrâm who smirked at him and then finally stopped at a sour-looking Quinn.

"Captain! I have this headache, perhaps you could take a look?"

Theron sighed – really smooth, Shan, and you are supposed to be a professional liar and spy.

But Quinn was luckily still professional to a fault. "Certainly, agent. If you would follow me to the med bay."

ooOOoo

In the medbay, Quinn took a scanner from the table and activated it. His eyes were firmly locked on the screen while he moved it from Theron's neck to his cranial implant.

"Where is the pain situated?" Quinn asked while typing something on the scanner. He still wasn't looking at him.

"Down here," Theron pointed on his temple. "Now it's gone, but yesterday it did hurt."

Quinn lifted his left eyebrow. "So, you don't have headache now?"

Theron rubbed the back of his head. "I thought you got it that I just wanted to get away from Vette's questions."

"Why? Are you hiding something else?" Quinn checked the med scanner again.

By the stars, why had he thought that Quinn wouldn't ask him about his mother too? "No, but how would you like it if you were questioned about your mother in front of three people?"

"But my mother isn't a Jedi – that's bound the raise questions."

Theron decided to go on the offensive to avoid further inquiries: "Let me guess, she is a loyal soldier of the Empire? And I guess your father too?"

Quinn activated the scanner again and waved it in front of Theron's forehead. "They were, they both died in the line of duty."

Theron gulped and almost expressed his condolences. But he pulled himself together. "And you decided to follow in their footsteps?"

At first Quinn didn't answer, he checked the scanner again. Then he looked up, for a moment he seemed hesitant. "Of course. One does aspire to surpass one's parents."

Theron almost scoffed; perhaps he would've tried to do that if he had been Force-sensitive or had known that his father was the supreme commander of the Republic forces before he had joined the SIS. It didn't matter, not anymore. "Perhaps."

"The scans don't show anything, Agent Shan. Perhaps you're just tense."

"I don't know, I feel quite relaxed right now."

"I would think so after you enjoyed Lord Saikrâm's company last night," Quinn replied without batting an eye. "But muscular tension is something different. I recommend that you ask 2V to give you a back massage."

Theron felt heat crawling up his cheeks and stared at Quinn's annoying stoic façade – suddenly he felt the need to put a dent into it. "What about you? You were awfully quiet this morning. Didn't you 'enjoy' Vette's company last night?" It was childish and unnecessary, and Theron felt bad the moment the words had left his mouth.

Quinn clenched his jaw, the tips of his ears turned pink. "I think we are finished here," he pressed out.

Theron jumped to his feet and left quickly.

ooOOoo

Several hours later Theron watched how Saikrâm snored while drooling on his pillow, his duvet barely covering his lower half. He looked vulnerable and dorky – Theron smiled a little.

It was strange: He knew that Sai was the Emperor's Wrath, but he couldn't help himself feeling content when watching him. There was something about him … Theron couldn't put his finger on it. Was it the way Sai carried himself? Of course, he was ridiculously attractive but something else was drawing Theron to him. And since when was he calling Darth Saikrâm "Sai"?

He suddenly felt uneasy and decided to get a cup of tea. Theron slid out of the bed and put sweatpants and a T-shirt on before he quietly left Sai's quarters.

He heard voices from the galley and slowed down to listen in.

"… compiled astrological charts with the most interesting star constellations." Theron recognized Quinn's voice, his accent clipped and cool as ever.

"By the Emperor's shorts! More work!" exclaimed Vette.

"W-well it's not work, I thought you might find it interesting – you used to watch the stars back on Voss," Quinn stammered, Theron could literally hear how he blushed. Interesting, Quinn was seemingly flirting with Vette – or at least he was trying to.

"Yeah, but that was like once. But thanks anyway! I will check it out later."

Theron approached the galley and finally stepped into it. Vette and Quinn glanced at him while he went to the replimat and pulled a turu grass tea out of it. He hesitated shortly and sat down next to Vette. Quinn glared at him when he took the data pad lying on the table into his hand.

"What's this?"

"Quinn's put together star constellations," Vette replied with a smile.

Theron scrolled through it and nodded approvingly. "That's a lot of work you put in there, Captain."

Quinn blinked at him in surprise – gone was his glare. "Well, it wasn't work exactly. I, uh, like researching the constellations."

Vette frowned a little and took the data pad from Theron and began to scroll through it. Theron got up and left the galley, taking the tea with him. He entered Sai's quarters again and returned to bed.

He sipped his tea while checking the results of his cross-reference program. From time to time he glanced at the Sith snoring at his side. After a while he pulled the duvet up to cover Sai and kissed his forehead.

ooOOoo

"I've contacted my remaining allies within the Empire," Lana said while pacing back and forth in the ship's conference room. "It won't be enough. We need more manpower and more ships if we hope to have a chance against the Revanites. From what I've seen, they possess considerable firepower."

"Alright, I will use my influence to gain support from Darth Vowrawn and Darth Marr. I guess we could also trust Mortis, but I won't take any chances," replied Sai. Then he turned to Theron and gave him a broad smile. "Any idea where they could be headed?"

"All the leads point towards Yavin 4 – in all likelihood their headquarters are on the planet." Theron displayed the planet on the holo in the middle of the table. "I assume they use the thick jungle as a cover to hide infrastructure. Their capital ships will most likely hide somewhere in the system."

Sai nodded approvingly. "Quinn? What's your assessment?"

"My lord, I agree with Agent Shan's analysis. I recommend a full orbital bombardment before sending the infantry – there is an 80.27% probability that they will have underground bunkers, but we will kill the majority of their forces by surprise."

"There is no need to storm all the bunkers," added Vette, "we just need to take out the head honcho and I bet they will scatter like womprats."

"And how will we know where Revan is?" Lana asked.

Vette shrugged. "I know his type – every so-called galactic legend is so kriffing extra. He will be in the most symbolic place on this rock, some temple or something like that. But don't worry, I'll just check their communications and confirm his whereabouts."

Sai laughed. "You might be right. Tell me as soon as you have confirmation. But our biggest problem is our lack of manpower – we won't be able to do anything if we don't get some serious back-up."

Theron cleared his throat. "Well, it's a long shot, but I could try to reach out to some people in the Republic."

Quinn crossed his arms. "An alliance? Strategically interesting, but I'm afraid that it's unrealistic."

"It's worth a try – at least if you're certain that you can still trust your contacts," Lana said. "May I inquire who you're calling?"

Theron shifted in his seat, but didn't answer.

"Why would they help you now?" Quinn asked after a moment of silence. "They didn't help you back on Manaan if I recall correctly."

Theron grimaced. "But this time it's not about me. It's more important, it's about the safety of the Republic."


	11. I know I'd never be me

With a heavy heart, Theron closed the door behind himself. He had asked for some privacy to make a few holocalls. Or rather to make two holocalls.

He licked his lips and dialled the first frequency. He had sent an encrypted message a couple of hours ago – now he just had to close the deal. He ran his hand through his hair and straitened himself when the figure of a middle-aged man with a scarred face appeared on holo.

"Theron? It that really you?" he asked.

"Supreme Commander Malcom, thank you for receiving my call," Theron said stiffly.

Jace Malcom clasped his hands behind his back. "Of course, the dossier you sent me was quite interesting to say the least."

"My reputation has … suffered, I wasn't sure that you would credit the intel at all."

"Of course, I would listen to what you've to say. You're," Malcom paused shortly, "or at least you were one of our best agents."

Theron exhaled slowly. Agent, yes – he was only an agent. No need to get sentimental. "I'm sure that you've realised that there was something strange going on with the invasions of Korriban and Tython. My Imperial allies are reading their troops to smoke out the conspirators. I'm aware that it's much to ask, but a joint operation could finish our common foe."

"I can't send our fleet on your word alone," Malcom said, quietly. "And while your intel seems to be reliable, it's coming directly from Imperial sources. Heck, you are even travelling with a Sith."

"I am, but it was a necessity to gather more information. And if you think about it, why would the Empire set such an obvious trap?"

Malcom rubbed his temples. "I know. As I said, I can't send our fleet – but I know some starship captains who owe me big time."

"Good, but can you trust them?"

"With my life," retorted Malcom. Then he cleared his throat. "Will … will you contact Satele too?"

Theron crossed his arms. "Yes, I will."

"Ah, very well. I'm expected at a meeting. Contact me again with the details plans."

Theron nodded and ended the holocall. Then he dialled the next frequency. Before he put in the last number, he hesitated and hung up. He took a deep breath and dialled again, after a few moments the Grand Master of the Jedi Order appeared on holo.

"Grand Master," said Theron.

"Agent Shan, I expected your call." The voice was just as calm as he remembered.

A lump formed in Theron's throat. "Yes, I just spoke with Supreme Commander Malcom and he will unofficially support the mission. But we could still use help from the Jedi."

Satele tilted her head slightly. "He will?"

Theron ran his hand through his hair. "That's what I said. What about you?"

She folded her hands and looked at Theron for a moment. It seemed almost as if she pitied him. Theron grew impatient: "Well?"

"Agent Shan, Theron … you once learned the Jedi ways. Do you remember what Master Zho taught you about the Dark Side?"

"Can we skip the lesson?" Theron frowned as he said it.

"The dangerous thing about the Dark Side isn't its raw power nor the primitive emotions it's based on. It's most dangerous if you let it in your heart, in your thoughts. Once touched by it one is forever tainted. It is possible of course to return to the light, but a cloth once dirtied will never be as pure as it was once before. It may not even be visible, but it's there, in the fabric."

"You still haven't given me an answer."

"You have become blind to the danger you're in, Theron. You are collaborating with a Sith. You might think that you're still who you were, but you're changing. Once you would've faced death rather than work together with Imperials and look at you now."

Theron clenched his hand into a fist. "You would rather that I died back on Manaan?"

"Of course not, but there were other options. There are always other options."

"You weren't there! You don't know how it is out in the field! I had to complete my mission and I'm close to finishing this mess!"

"So the end justifies the means?"

"Yes, sometimes it does!" Theron retorted.

"Don't you see that you are walking down the path to darkness?"

"I am not a Jedi!" He screamed. "You were there, remember? I'm just an ordinary guy trying to make the galaxy a better place!"

"You sound just like your father. He, too, thinks that he is doing the right thing. But there is blood on his hands."

Theron smashed his fist on the table where the communicator stood. "As far as I'm concerned Master Zho is my father! The only parent I have!"

Satele looked at him sadly. "And yet you have called us and not Master Zho, perh-"

"So you won't support us?" snapped Theron.

"No, I won't."

"Then there is nothing more to say." As soon as the words had left his mouth Theron felt the lump in his throat again. He gulped, but it didn't go away.

"Goodbye Theron," Satale said, and ended the call.

Theron let himself fall on a chair and buried his face in his hands. Damn her and her calmness! She didn't know him, she hadn't seen him grow up, she didn't know who he was and yet – yet she was able to effortlessly hurt him where it really mattered. He felt his eyes fill with water.

Master Zho … the only parent he had known. Who had abandoned him after he failed to pass the test to become Jedi, who had dropped out of contact for a decade. Damn it, he was supposed to be over it!

Theron sniffled and blinked a few times. He pushed the doubts aside. He had to pull himself together. He was alone, always had been and always will be. There was no need to get sentimental over a basic insight into the truth of life.

He took a deep breath and got up. He would complete the mission and stop Revan. That was all that mattered now. That was all he was good for anyway.

ooOOoo

When Theron returned to the conference room he found it empty. He heard voices from the corridor and followed them until he found Lana, Sai, Vette and Quinn in the mid-section of the ship: They had gathered around the big holocomm device usually reserved for long-distance calls.

"Are you awaiting a call?" asked Theron and stepped next to Sai.

Sai laughed and put his arm around Theron's shoulder. "No, but today is the relegation battle for the Coruscant Flutterplumes against the Ryloth Diamonds. I thought you wanted to watch it."

Theron felt his warmth and wanted to hug him, hold him. But he hesitated a moment too long and Sai let go of him to grab a bottle from the table.

"Go Flutterplumes!" exclaimed Vette, lifting a bottle of Tarisian ale in the air.

"They will need all the support they can get," Lana said. "I have never seen such poor passing skills."

Quinn stood next to her, his face completely impassive. Theron suspected that Sai had ordered him to watch the game.

Vette laughed and said something to Lana, Sai handed Quinn an ale. Theron watched them and inhaled. They were all here, they were all here for him.

"Great idea!" said Theron and began to smile. "I had completely forgotten about it!"

They sat down on the couch positioned around the commstation. After the first few minutes they became rather animated whenever the Flutterplumes gained possession on the Huttball.

"Throw a pass!" Vette yelled. "Throw it, you moron!"

"Wait … they lost it again!" groaned Lana.

"By the Force! What are they doing?" laughed Sai when another pass was intercepted.

"Hey, come on!" Theron chuckled. "They've got a real fighting spirit – just look at them! Going after every ball even when it's for naught."

"The referee is clearly visually impaired," Quinn said with a glare. "This was a clear foul."

The game went on, and both teams were equally bad – losing balls at the first contact, missing their targets and senseless brawling at every opportunity. Vette brought another round of ale and they continued to comment on the game.

"Ohhh, that's going to leave a mark!" Sai said, and grimaced after a particularly nasty foul.

"By the stars! That move would put some Sith to shame," laughed Lana. "How devious!"

Suddenly Quinn banged his bottle on the table and yelled: "This was a kriffing clear foul! What is the son of a Hutt referee doing! He – he is a filthy idiot; a lily-livered, action-taking asshole, a two-timing Troglodyte, a glass-gazing, slime-sucking imbecile! That son and heir of a mongrel bitch!"

They all froze for a moment before they all started laughing. Theron almost choked on his ale when he heard the prim and proper Captain swear like a Rigellian sailor.

Quinn turned red and said with a surprisingly steady voice: "My apologizes, my lords."

Sai was still laughing. "Now I remember why Pierce refused to watch sports events with you, Quinn."

"And I thought I knew all the insults!" Vette giggled, then nudged Quinn.

Sai put his arm around Theron and took another gulp of his ale. Theron lean against him, enjoying the intimacy and the warmth. But he couldn't help to feel guilty.

They continued to moan and yell at every bad play, and Quinn restrained himself to occasional swearing – Theron made a mental note to look up the exact meaning of "macrocephalic baboon"as soon as the game was over.

ooOOoo

"You seem preoccupied," Sai said when they laid next to each other in the Sith's bed.

Theron stared at the ceiling and sighed. "Perhaps I am. When I made the call to my Republic sources I was accused of, uh, treason."

"And that surprised you?"

"No, it didn't. It just not how I see myself and I was … I don't know. I was just not what I expected … somehow."

Sai sat up and hugged his knees. "It never is, isn't it?"

Theron sighed. "Sometimes I envy the younger me – back when I joined the SIS. Everything was so clear and simple. We were the good guys, and even when the lines became blurred it was still for the good of the galaxy."

"The good of the galaxy, huh?"

"Sounds silly, doesn't it? But it was the truth. I used to despise seasoned agents who had become lazy, who were prepared to cut deals with Imps."

"What changed?"

"I grew older, Sai. With time, I realised that the Republic had skeletons in the closet. I mean, I was the one who put them there. I have killed people, sometimes with good reason and sometimes because they were in my way." Theron ran his hand through his hair. "It's difficult to hold the moral high ground if you have done your share of cleaning up in the name of the Republic."

"I never understood why the Republic bothered with ideals in the first place," Sai said, contemplatively. "Idealists are bound to become disappointed."

"Really? What's driving you and all the other Imperials?"

"Interesting question. Perhaps a sense of duty to the Empire itself? There are of course people who are mostly motivated by their greed, but underlying is not personal gain, it's more a philosophy."

"What kind of philosophy? To kill and conquer?"

Sai scratched his head. "Of course not, we love life and everything it has to offer. I think it's about taking whatever _you_ want, it doesn't matter what happens to people outside the perceived Imperial society. It's selfishness, pure and simple. We just embrace it while you deny it."

Theron frowned. "So the only thing you're interested in is your own personal gain?"

"No, I just don't think that my wishes are less worthy than the ones of other people – I act on them because I want to."

"And you don't care about other people, do you?"

Sai sat up. "Of course, I care about other people! Just not the whole galaxy. They are not my responsibility."

Theron propped up on his arm. "Not your responsibility? So that's why you can be friends with Vette while ignoring the barbarism of slavery?"

"What am I supposed to do? I can't abolish slavery on my own!"

"But you don't even try, right?"

Sai got up from the bed pointed at Theron. " _You_ want to lecture me about what I'm supposed to do? You don't know me! You don't know what I have or haven't done!"

Theron jumped out of the bed and began grabbed his clothes. "You know what? You're absolutely right – I don't know you! But I don't have to! You're a Sith, that's all that matters!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sai crossed his arms and glared at Theron.

Theron stepped right in front of the tall Sith and hissed: "You are just an empty shell, pretending to care for people who are dependent on you; but you know the truth, don't you? If not for your fancy Force powers you would be alone, nobody would care about you."

Sai opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Theron snapped and strode out of the room.

ooOOoo

By the time he had reached the mid-section of the ship Theron's anger had cooled off. 2V was collecting the last ale bottles left from the Huttball game. The droid gave Theron a polite nod and disappeared in the galley.

Theron stared at the turned off holoviewer. Only hours ago he had been laughing and enjoying a sub-par game of Huttball, and now it felt like he was about to suffocate. He would have given his right arm if he could be in the Tythonian pine forest, running like he used to until he reached the top of the tallest hill.

Theron closed his eyes for a moment and used the meditation technique Master Zho had taught him, he focussed on his memories and for a brief moment it felt like he really was standing on the mossy hill on Tython, smelling the sap trees.

He exhaled and opened his eyes again. Slowly he sat down on the couch and put his feet on the console of the holo console. It had felt so good calling out Sai for what he was – a cruel Sith who didn't give a damn! But now … Theron felt empty and marrowless. He was close to complete his mission and yet he couldn't bring himself to care.

What was the point of all these missions? He struggled and worked himself into the ground, but in the end, he didn't matter. The galaxy was vast and for every threat he uncovered and disarmed there were ten others that weren't foiled. Had he really thought that he would make a difference? "Saving the galaxy?"

And after all he had done, they had just discarded them, wouldn't believe him that there was something going on with Colonel Darok. They cut him loose, just like that. Nobody stood up for him. He did what he had to do and Satele thought that he was falling on the Dark Side?

But what if she was right? Perhaps there had been other options?

Theron leaned back and closed his eyes. He could've risked getting captured, but then again he needed the intel the Imps had. No, it had been the right call. Even getting involved with Sai had been a good call: Theron had used his good looks in the past to get what he wanted – this was no different, was it?

He felt a headache coming up and rubbed his tense shoulders. Of course, it was different, he was attracted to Sai, even a little infatuated. Theron enjoyed being with him. It made him happier than it should.

Was this the reason he had started a fight with Sai? Had it been some childish attempt to prove that he was still loyal to the Republic? No, that was too easy. There was a reason why Theron fought for the Republic. There was a reason why Sith were considered evil and disruptive.

It didn't matter that he liked Sai, heck, he even liked Lana, Vette and Quinn in some weird way; in the end, it was a question of principles – and he knew where he belonged. He still was one of the good guys. It didn't matter that he was a nobody, there were people in the spotlight and there were people in the shadows - strange that two light figures like Jace Malcom and Satele Shan had a child that - Theron stopped his train of thought. No, there was no sense in thinking about this anymore.

He opened his eyes and stood up. Slowly he made his way to the crew quarters. When he slid into his bunk Theron realised that it had been quite a while when he had last slept alone. He pulled his blanket up and felt a little cold.


	12. Without the security of your loving arms

The next couple of days were quite busy – they had to coordinate the attack on the Revanites and had to keep a low profile at the same time. Sai and Theron barely spoke and it didn't take long before Vette was asking about their "lover's quarrel."

Theron dodged most of her questions more or less smoothly. But after the fifth time she inquired about it, he lost his nerve.

"Look, I get that you're curious – but I'm really not in the mood to discuss this!"

"But you and Sai are both miserable! You -"

In this moment Sai stepped into the conference room and Vette fell silent. He looked from Vette to Theron and said: "Theron? Might I have a word with you?"

Vette began to grin. "Finally!"

"Of course," replied Theron quietly.

Sai led Theron into his quarters and turned on his heel as soon as the door had slid shut.

"I miss you, Theron."

Theron felt an iron grip around his heart. He had expected that Sai would lash out, but these soft words hit him in his core.

He tried to act casual. "I knew you would miss my rugged good looks eventually." Theron even managed a lop-sided grin.

Sai had a surprisingly hurt expression on his face. "I thought that we had something. Was I wrong?"

Theron gulped and put his hands on his hips. "It was nice while it lasted. I – I just wanted to have some fun." The last bit came out a bit shaky.

Sai stepped closer and cupped Theron's face with his right hand. "I don't believe you."

Theron licked his lips. "What does it matter? You know that we can't go on."

"I don't care – I've fallen in love with you and I - "

Theron flinched. "Don't say that."

Sai smiled sadly. "But it's true – you are smart, witty and strong, I couldn't help myself. I told myself that you're just using me, you're a spy after all. But I still fell for you and I miss you."

Theron pushed him away. "Stop saying that!"

"Yes, I'm a Sith and that's who I will always be, but- but you forgot sometimes, didn't you? When we made love or when we were watching that Huttball game."

Theron felt suddenly dizzy and had to sit down on the edge of the bed. He cursed under his breath. Why, why couldn't he make those feelings go away?

Sai sat down next to him. Theron felt his presence; it made his chest hurt, his breath quicken. Sai put his hand on Theron's and squeezed it gently. The warmth seemed to travel up his arm, it felt so good. Theron looked at Sai and gave him a peck on his cheek before he put his head on the Sith's shoulder.

"It won't end well, Sai."

"I know, but we can try."

Sai pulled Theron into an embrace and kissed him softly.

ooOOoo

The scheduled meeting with the allied forces was set to take place on Jace Malcom's flagship; since the Republic forces were slightly weaker than the Imperials, he had insisted to host the occasion. Theron hadn't spoken with Malcom since their last holocall – Quinn had coordinated with the forces to meet up behind a moon in the Yavin system.

Theron could feel the eyes of the Republic soldiers on him when he walked towards the bridge. Sai and Lana were walking up front, while Theron, Vette and Quinn followed a few steps behind them.

They were the last to arrive. Darth Marr and Darth Vowran were standing with several Imperial moffs on the right side of the table, while Malcom and his people stood on the left. They were all tense, and the air was thick with suspicion.

"Welcome," Malcom said coldly and nodded towards Sai. Then he directed his gaze at Theron. "Agent."

"Thank you for coming here," Sai began. "Captain Quinn has drawn up battle plans - "

"We would like to review them before we agree to anything," interrupted Malcom. He crossed his arms and glared at the Imperials.

"My dear Commander Malcom," Darth Vowran said with his winning smile, "of course. But let's keep perspective – we would gain nothing if we were to betray you before the Revanites are defeated."

Theron couldn't see Sai's face due to his mask, but he could tell from his posture that he was glaring at Malcom.

"Let's not waste time then. Captain Quinn will explain his tactics – if you're not satisfied, you are welcome to give us your input, Commander," Sai growled.

"Acceptable, proceed," Malcom said, his sneer more pronounced than before.

Theron knew the plan of course, and he took his time to eye the people around the table during the briefing:

Quinn stood at attention while he pointed at the enemy bases on the holodisplay. He was curt, clear and calm. Vette stood right next to him. She had a focussed look on her face and seemed to listen closely to Quinn. Sai had his hands clasped behind his back and watched Quinn; he, too, was calm.

Darth Marr cut an impressive figure, with his heavy spiked armour; he was almost as tall as Sai. He radiated authority and power, and Theron felt slightly threatened by his presence. Darth Vowrawn was the only Sith not to wear a mask. His simple clothes seemed more appropriate for an administrator than one of the most powerful Sith in the Empire. He wore similar golden piercings like Sai, and he had a benevolent expression on his face. It made him seem almost fatherly with his slightly greying hair and his relaxed posture.

Finally, Theron turned his attention to his father. Jace Malcom had his lips set to a thin line, the facial scars he had received from Darth Malgus during the last war seemed darker than Theron remembered. He still was very fit, truly a hardened veteran, a soldier head from toe.

"… and I suggest units here and here to capture any fleeing Revanites." Quinn finished his presentation and bowed slightly in the direction of the Sith.

"Your plan seems adequate, Captain," Malcom said. "But I want to review it with my tactical team nonetheless. Agent Shan, if you would join us?"

"Of course," Theron replied and glanced quickly at Sai. He nodded at him and then turned to speak to Vowrawn.

Malcom and the other Republic leaders retreated into an adjacent ready room. He started to pace and seemed contemplative. "Opinions?"

"The plan is sound," said an admiral, then she cleared her throat. "The Imps know their tactics. It's ruthlessly efficient."

"I concur," said a commander. "I didn't detect any traps for us. It's of course still possible but if that were their goal they would've gone about it differently."

The other two voiced similar thoughts.

"I agree with you, it seems that they are actually doing what they say. Agent Shan, what's your assessment?"

"As you might know I've worked with Darth Saikrâm and his crew in the past weeks to uncover the conspiracy. I haven't seen anything that suggests that they plan to ambush us."

"Good, I would like a word with Agent Shan alone. Check the plan again – we can't afford any mistakes."

His subordinates snapped at attention. "Yes sir!"

As soon as they had left the room Malcom gestured Theron to sit down. "The scars are new."

Theron sat down across from his father. "Yes, they are."

"Are they the Wrath's handiwork?"

Theron narrowed his eyes. "No, as I have written in the dossier that I send you -"

"You didn't mention the extent of your injuries." Malcom sat down too. He hesitated shortly before he continued to speak: "How are you holding up?"

Theron shifted in his seat. "What do you really want do know?"

Malcom suddenly had a pained expression on his face. "Theron …"

"How am I supposed to be holding up?" Theron rubbed his temples. "I'm fine."

Malcom exhaled. "I don't know how to say this delicately, so I will be blunt: There are people in the Republic that think that you have been compromised."

Theron laughed joylessly. "Really? Which ones? The Revanites who tried to kill me?"

"This is serious, Theron," growled Malcom. "You voluntarily surrendered yourself to the Empire, you worked with the _Emperors Wrath_! Of course, there are bound to be questions."

"This is hardly surprising, but why tell me that now?" Theron felt a lump forming in his throat.

"From what I gathered you have gained the Sith's trust, yes?"

"Yes," replied Theron curtly.

"So you know when he lets his guard down?"

Pictures of Sai sleeping next to him came to mind and Theron nodded. The lump in his throat became bigger.

"Then you know what you must do," Malcom whispered, and leaned back in his chair. "We can't touch Marr or Vowrawn, but we can eliminate the Emperor's executioner."

Theron gulped. "And if I can't pull it off?"

"You will never shake off the suspicions. There will be an inquiry regarding this whole business and I can't guarantee the outcome. It's a dangerous game and you've got a weak hand. But you can stack the deck in your favour if you take out a leading figure in the Empire."

Theron felt himself turn pale. Malcom was right of course. This was the only way to redeem himself and he had carried out assassinations before. But alone the thought of hurting Sai made him feel light-headed.

"Nothing to say? If I didn't know better I would think that you don't like the idea," Malcom said, slowing down his words for maximum impact.

Theron gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Malcom jumped up and slammed his fist on the table. "You are my flesh and my blood and you will kill this kriffing Sith! You will not shame me with this treason!"

"Your flesh and blood? Give me a break! What happened to 'Agent Shan'?" Theron yelled.

"I want you to finish your job!" screamed Malcom.

"Have you any idea what you're asking of me? Even- Even if I would go through with it – I wouldn't make it if I don't kill his crew as well! They're fiercely loyal -"

"That's an order! You _will_ do it!" Malcom slammed his fist on the desk again. "Or so help me the Force, I will court-martial you myself!"

Suddenly Theron felt sick. They were never close, they were never- but his threat still hurt. "You would do that to your own son?"

His father stared at him. "I had a son once. He dedicated his life to defending the Republic."

Theron felt a dull pain in his chest, and with a throaty voice he answered: "I see."

"I think we are finished here." Malcom strode out of the ready room without looking back.

Theron let himself fall back on the chair and buried his face in his hands.


	13. Keeping me from harm

His professionalism helped Theron through the following hours. He simply focussed on the mission at hand like he had done so many times. Quinn's plan had been approved by both sides and they had moved into position.

Theron, Vette and Quinn stayed on board Malcom's flagship to coordinate the assault. Quinn was wearing a headset and checking the incoming reports while Vette and Theron tried to pinpoint Revan's location. It didn't take long to determine that all communication was sent to a large temple structure in the middle of a jungle.

"What did I tell you, the most symbolic place on the rock!" said Vette and winked.

"And they even call it the 'Temple of Sacrifice'," added Theron.

"Yeah, well, perhaps 'Dark Temple of Bloody Corpses' was already taken?" Vette snapped back.

They marked the location on the holomap and Quinn sent the update to the other battleships. He stood in front of a large display of the planet. The allied ships were marked blue while the enemy infrastructure was red. The whole room was painted in the dark green colour of the holodisplay. Theron shivered at the eerie atmosphere it created. It didn't help that Quinn's voice was clipped and almost emotionless as he reported the status updates.

"All clear, 30. 25. 20. Ready ion cannons. 10. 5. Go."

The holodisplay lit up when the battle began. Theron and Vette focussed on interrupting enemy communication by hacking their comm systems. The Revanites never even managed to set up their shields and 20 minutes later, the battleships ceased fire.

Judging from map they had suffered minimal casualties; their overwhelming firepower had wiped out most of the enemy forces before they could scramble their own fleet.

"Commencing phase two," Quinn droned.

Theron and Vette watched how three shuttles from Darth Marr's flagship took off and flew directly to the temple where they assumed Revan would be.

"Havoc, activate body cams," Quinn ordered, and seconds later, five live feeds from the shuttles were displayed on holo.

Theron saw how, as Sai sat across from a Havoc Squad member with body cam, he seemed to meditate. When the shuttles touched down, the inhabitants jumped out and secured the perimeter before they moved into the temple. Their intrusion was met with heavy blaster fire, so it was difficult to follow the event through the body cams. It soon grew hectic and dark.

Suddenly, he heard multiple screams as a flurry of red light passed the soldiers. When the soldiers moved forward it became apparent that Lana, Sai and two other Sith had overwhelmed their opponents. Blood and dismembered, mutilated bodies were visible on the floor.

Theron gasped a little when he saw it. He was no stranger to violence – but Force-users with their melee weapons displayed another kind of brutality. It was vicious, raw and personal.

Mere minutes later, as the allied forces reached the inner sanctum of the temple, a single figure stood in the middle of the room.

"Revan," Theron whispered. The sight of him gave him goose bumps.

Vette put her hand on his arm and squeezed it.

"Ah the irony! My attempt to unite the galaxy has led my opponents to overcome their differences and unite," Revan shouted.

"We aren't interested in speeches, Revan. All we want is your head," yelled Sai. "You will pay for what you have done!"

"I was Jedi, I am Sith! You can't defeat me!" Revan snapped back, activating his purple-bladed lightsaber.

"Watch us!" Lana yelled as she lunged at him.

Revan parried her, and had to fall back when the other Sith joined the fight. For a few minutes, Revan was able to hold his own against four opponents, but with time his movements became wearier. It was Lana who cut off his right hand with a single swift strike.

Then Sai grabbed him by the throat and impaled him with his lightsaber. He finally let the lifeless body fall on the ground.

Theron exhaled and wiped across his face. Quinn exhaled as well and smiled, when Vette hugged him, the tips of his ears turned pink. The hug lasted a little longer than necessary. Theron patted them on the shoulders and gave them his trademark lop-sided grin.

"We did it, Mal. We avenged them!" Vette said, her eyes wet.

"Of course we did, Vette," replied Quinn with a tear-choked voice. "We promised Pierce, didn't we?"

Theron stepped back. He felt like he was intruding on this very intimate moment. His sight fell on Malcom, who was standing in the doorframe of his ready room and his already strained smile faltered.

ooOOoo

About an hour later they all gathered again on Malcom's ship.

"Our business here is concluded. There is no need to prolong this further," snarled Marr. He seemed even more intense than before the battle. "I will leave a small complement stationed here – to make sure that we didn't miss any stragglers."

"Do we want to know what you're doing with them?" asked a Republic admiral. Her tone was cold.

"Do you?" snapped Marr.

The admiral was about to answer, but Malcom spoke first:

"Do as you wish. Agent Shan obtained personal data of every Revanite on record. We got to clean up back home first. The courts will be busy while we deal with this traitorous scum." Theron didn't miss that Malcom looked at him when he said the last bit.

"You are much more lenient than we will be," said Vowrawn in an eerily cheerful manner.

"Finally we crushed this cult. I'm grateful for your assistance. But Darth Marr is right, we have overstayed our welcome." Sai crossed his arms, and blood stains became visible on his sleeves and Theron had so close his eyes for a moment. He had known before what Sai was capable of, but seeing him like this … he was every bit a Sith like the rest of them, but Theron couldn't help himself, he – he couldn't hurt him.

He looked at Malcom who stared at him. Theron simply shook his head.

Malcom furrowed his brow and said sharply: "You may leave, Sith. Agent Shan, you are under arrest." He gestured and two soldiers stepped forward.

The Imperials looked confused, and at least Vowrawn seemed amused. Sai on the other hand blocked the soldiers' way to Theron.

"What are the charges?" Sai demanded.

Malcom eased into parade rest. "Conspiring with the enemy and insubordination of course."

"That's inane, he did it to stop the Revanites," protested Sai.

"I'm afraid that these charges are more recent," said Theron. "They got nothing to do with the Revanites."

Malcom scoffed. "What do you care, Sith?"

Sai now seemed positively livid and clenched his hands into fists. Theron put his hand on his back. The Sith turned on his heel and looked at Theron. "Theron -"

"It's alright. There is no need to get worked up over it." Theron registered that his voice became slightly brittle. "We knew it would end like this."

They looked at each other, unable to say anything.

"I see," growled Malcom. "Of all the things you- you traitorous-" he stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

Vowrawn laughed, it seemed to infuriate Malcom even further.

"Do you even know who he is, Sith? A lying-"

"I know exactly who he is," interrupted Sai. "He is an former SIS operative and the son of Satele Shan, so what? It doesn't change anything."

Theron felt himself pale. "You- you knew who my mother is?"

Sai smiled sadly at him. "Of course, even before Lana had found out … it doesn't take a genius to figure out with which Jedi you share your last name with."

"I knew I should've asked for a cover name," replied Theron quietly.

Vowrawn clapped his hands. "Oh, this day gets better and better! By the Force, Wrath – I didn't know that you had such acquired taste!"

Again they fell silent.

Finally Theron pulled himself together. "I guess I should get going."

Suddenly a nasal voice rang out: "My lord, if I may?"

Theron jerked his head around and saw Quinn standing right next to them. He was holding a data pad. Sai nodded and Quinn stepped forward.

"Supreme Commander, the charges you've brought forth are both catalogued under Republic military law paragraph 236 and 371b, c and d. They apply only to military personnel."

Malcom stepped right in front of Quinn; he was about a head taller than the Imperial. "And?"

"Agent Shan was disavowed after Manaan, his status as SIS operative was abolished. In other words, he became a civilian and is therefore not subject to military law."

Theron blinked a few times before he realised what Quinn was saying. Malcom opened his mouth to say something, but just clenched his jaw shut.

Sai laughed gleefully. "I think we will be leaving now, I wish you a pleasant day, Supreme Commander Malcom."

"Arrest him! Damn it!" Malcom yelled.

One of the Republic admirals lifted his hand. "You know we can't – we've sworn to uphold the law of the Republic."

The Imperials began to walk away, shoving the Republic personnel out of their way. Theron followed them slowly, but as he got to the doorway, he looked back. All the Republic personnel were looking at him. Most of them were visibly angry, some seemed to be confused.

There was only one person who hadn't bothered to turn around: his father.

"Theron? Are you coming?" asked Sai.

Theron looked around and saw Sai, Vette and Quinn standing in the doorway, waiting for him. Vette was beaming at him, Quinn was at least almost smiling and Sai … Sai was gesturing him to come closer. Theron felt like a rock was lifted off his chest.

"Yes, I'm coming."


End file.
